Karlee Provenza and Paul Crouch disagree on just about every policy, from abortion to climate change to LGBTQ+ rights. But their most significant divide must just be their views on public education.
Mr. Crouch lived in Wyoming since 2023. He now has enough knowledge after watching two legislative sessions to consider himself ready to enact legislation for the rest of us. Must be quite the guy. It would be interesting to know his position on city ordinance #1802, setting safety and habitability standards for local rentals and whether, if elected to Cheyenne, he would overturn them.
Hi Donal, thanks for the question. I originally had a section about the rental ordinance in this story but had to cut it because the story is still 3,500 words without it (lol?)
When I asked Crouch about the rental regulations, he shared a few thoughts:
"I don't think they're doing themselves any favors by putting additional regulations on. ... Some of this is hard to legislate. We need responsible tenants and we need responsible landlords."
"I don't believe what Karlee is doing is helping ... I haven't run into any bad landlords in Laramie. Now maybe there are some, but I haven't found any, and I haven't found any unhappy tenants."
My own experience as an investigative journalist covering this town tells me there are plenty of bad landlords operating in House 45 and no shortage of unhappy tenants forced to accept rentals they wouldn't otherwise because of the housing shortage.
I also asked Provenza about the rental regulations, though her thoughts are already pretty well-known. She spoke in favor of the Housing Code on its third reading before the city council, specifically highlighting the power imbalance. "We have a power problem where one party has all the power and the other doesn't."
When I asked her about the recent legislative efforts to overturn Laramie's rental code, she said Laramie and other communities should have the ability to set their own standards, "but the state should have better standards for the minimum requirements. Currently, we have some requirements for things like heating that are not being met. The state should also create protections for tenants who file complaints, as we have seen people evicted for simply trying to get these basic minimums met by their landlord."
I also asked Crouch explicitly whether he would support another effort, of the kind we've seen, to overturn the rental code. He said, "I don't know. I'd have to read the bill."
Thank you, Jeff, for the additional information. I will be generous and assume Mr. Crouch is being naïve or ignorant. This is a university town. Of course there are irresponsible landlords, as well as conscientious ones. Given Mr. Crouch's evasive response on whether he would undermine local control if elected, it is a fair assumption he would vote against the interests of many of District 45’s renters.
Hopefully the voters in this district will be smart enough to return a true representative to the legislature and not someone who has lived in the district for a couple minutes. Let the previous election of Janette Ward in Casper be an example of why you don't elect carpet baggers.
This statement by Candidate Paul Crouch shows how he was indoctrinated into a lie about our Founding and public schools..
“I love when Democrats always bring up the separation of church and state, because, you know, you take out some money and it has ‘In God We Trust’ on it,” Crouch said. “Freedom of religion … doesn’t mean you keep the religion out of the schools."
I think Mr. Crouch's problem with education is that it does create critical thinkers especially in those that hear the misrepresentation of the Bible at the church then you get facts in a public school. Public schools do not create liberal children or voters as an examination of my Kettering, Ohio HS graduating class would reveal. What Ohio and Wyoming have in common is educating their youth so they can migrate to better more liberal states to find like minded individuals. Angry old white conservative are retiring from all points around the US to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, while their children and grand children move to Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and to the Pacific Coast. Congratulations Paul as you fit the stereotype of whom is actually wrecking the West.
The corruption of the Founders intent for the Separation of Church and State can be dated and it occurred on July 30, 1956 when Eisenhower change our Founding Motto E Pluribus Unum to the homage to a mythical sky fairy. Eisenhower's move was based on fear and it was just one more capitulation of our Founders intent.but this time it started to erode the balance of First Amendment. His lack of understanding these basic ideas of our Founding is proof positive of his indoctrination and the media's lack of questing his idea of what his god wants for the rest of society and how he arrives at this so called understanding god.
Using the power of the State to put his religious beliefs into law was a prime reason why this Country was founded and yet Paul does not know these obvious facts.. The Bill of Rights was ordered for a reason and our Founders knew keeping religion in the pew was the basis for our domestic tranquility. Seemingly at the time when America abandoned Common Defense for World Wide offense we embraced a lesser value than our Founders aspiration E Pluribus Unum to the divisive and petty motto "in god we trust ". America has been in decline since 1956 when we tilted the 1st Amendment to mysticism instead of humanity.
Benjamin Franklin would decimate Paul Crouch.and his understanding of our Founders intent. He is unfit to serve.
Mr. Crouch lived in Wyoming since 2023. He now has enough knowledge after watching two legislative sessions to consider himself ready to enact legislation for the rest of us. Must be quite the guy. It would be interesting to know his position on city ordinance #1802, setting safety and habitability standards for local rentals and whether, if elected to Cheyenne, he would overturn them.
Hi Donal, thanks for the question. I originally had a section about the rental ordinance in this story but had to cut it because the story is still 3,500 words without it (lol?)
When I asked Crouch about the rental regulations, he shared a few thoughts:
"I don't think they're doing themselves any favors by putting additional regulations on. ... Some of this is hard to legislate. We need responsible tenants and we need responsible landlords."
"I don't believe what Karlee is doing is helping ... I haven't run into any bad landlords in Laramie. Now maybe there are some, but I haven't found any, and I haven't found any unhappy tenants."
My own experience as an investigative journalist covering this town tells me there are plenty of bad landlords operating in House 45 and no shortage of unhappy tenants forced to accept rentals they wouldn't otherwise because of the housing shortage.
I also asked Provenza about the rental regulations, though her thoughts are already pretty well-known. She spoke in favor of the Housing Code on its third reading before the city council, specifically highlighting the power imbalance. "We have a power problem where one party has all the power and the other doesn't."
When I asked her about the recent legislative efforts to overturn Laramie's rental code, she said Laramie and other communities should have the ability to set their own standards, "but the state should have better standards for the minimum requirements. Currently, we have some requirements for things like heating that are not being met. The state should also create protections for tenants who file complaints, as we have seen people evicted for simply trying to get these basic minimums met by their landlord."
I also asked Crouch explicitly whether he would support another effort, of the kind we've seen, to overturn the rental code. He said, "I don't know. I'd have to read the bill."
Thank you, Jeff, for the additional information. I will be generous and assume Mr. Crouch is being naïve or ignorant. This is a university town. Of course there are irresponsible landlords, as well as conscientious ones. Given Mr. Crouch's evasive response on whether he would undermine local control if elected, it is a fair assumption he would vote against the interests of many of District 45’s renters.
Hopefully the voters in this district will be smart enough to return a true representative to the legislature and not someone who has lived in the district for a couple minutes. Let the previous election of Janette Ward in Casper be an example of why you don't elect carpet baggers.
This statement by Candidate Paul Crouch shows how he was indoctrinated into a lie about our Founding and public schools..
“I love when Democrats always bring up the separation of church and state, because, you know, you take out some money and it has ‘In God We Trust’ on it,” Crouch said. “Freedom of religion … doesn’t mean you keep the religion out of the schools."
I think Mr. Crouch's problem with education is that it does create critical thinkers especially in those that hear the misrepresentation of the Bible at the church then you get facts in a public school. Public schools do not create liberal children or voters as an examination of my Kettering, Ohio HS graduating class would reveal. What Ohio and Wyoming have in common is educating their youth so they can migrate to better more liberal states to find like minded individuals. Angry old white conservative are retiring from all points around the US to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, while their children and grand children move to Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and to the Pacific Coast. Congratulations Paul as you fit the stereotype of whom is actually wrecking the West.
The corruption of the Founders intent for the Separation of Church and State can be dated and it occurred on July 30, 1956 when Eisenhower change our Founding Motto E Pluribus Unum to the homage to a mythical sky fairy. Eisenhower's move was based on fear and it was just one more capitulation of our Founders intent.but this time it started to erode the balance of First Amendment. His lack of understanding these basic ideas of our Founding is proof positive of his indoctrination and the media's lack of questing his idea of what his god wants for the rest of society and how he arrives at this so called understanding god.
Using the power of the State to put his religious beliefs into law was a prime reason why this Country was founded and yet Paul does not know these obvious facts.. The Bill of Rights was ordered for a reason and our Founders knew keeping religion in the pew was the basis for our domestic tranquility. Seemingly at the time when America abandoned Common Defense for World Wide offense we embraced a lesser value than our Founders aspiration E Pluribus Unum to the divisive and petty motto "in god we trust ". America has been in decline since 1956 when we tilted the 1st Amendment to mysticism instead of humanity.
Benjamin Franklin would decimate Paul Crouch.and his understanding of our Founders intent. He is unfit to serve.