CANDY MOULTON Star-Tribune correspondent | Posted: Sunday, October 8, 2006 12:00 am
ENCAMPMENT - Voters in House District 47 have a choice between an experienced politician and a relative newcomer, both of whom stress education and water development as top funding priorities.
Democrat Linda Fleming, 65, of Baggs is a former mayor of her community who served 14 years as a Carbon County commissioner and is a member and past president of the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.
William "Jeb" Steward, 53, a Republican from Encampment, has been on the Wyoming Water Development Commission since 2004, and formerly served as chairman of the S-E-R Conservation District Board of Supervisors.
Incumbent Republican Kurt Bucholz did not seek re-election.
Steward said his priorities for surplus state revenues would be directed toward education and school facilities, funding for municipalities and water development projects.
Fleming supports increased salaries for public school teachers as well as college professors and would continue funding the Hathaway Scholarship program. She would add to the water development and wildlife trust funds, increase funding for the Department of Transportation, and invest some of the surplus in the state's Permanent Mineral Trust Fund.
Fleming's highest priority in office would be providing safe, affordable child care for working families. Steward said his highest priority would be accountability and making sure he is representing the needs and wishes of voters in his district.
The candidates differ sharply in the area of work force training. Steward said he believes what the state is already doing is "good and adequate." He further said work force training is best when handled by the private sector. Fleming would increase funding for community college programs, add student scholarships and student loan programs, and expand vocational education at the high school level.
They also differ in the area of funding for WYDOT. Fleming would use surplus funding to provide resources for additional highway maintenance and construction projects and would investigate the need to increase fuel taxes to further fund highway projects. Steward said the department, like others, should engage in "belt tightening" to spend its funding wisely.
"We want to be sure there is a demonstrated need before we spend millions of dollars on highways," he said. "Maybe (the state) can put that money to better uses on maintaining stuff that we already have."
The candidates both support methamphetamine treatment centers at various locations in the state. Fleming would target that toward programs in partnership with existing hospitals, medical clinics and treatment centers, while Steward said he supports such centers but couldn't "go into more detail" about how they should be developed.
Steward had no position regarding additional funding for more state troopers, saying it is "not an issue" with the constituents he had spoken with during the campaign. Fleming said she does support additional funding and a fair manner of compensation for patrol officers.
"The issue is not only number of patrolmen, but fair and market competitive compensation for the patrolmen now serving and those we might acquire," she said.
Health care is an issue both say they would work on if elected.
"The need for affordable health care programs for Wyoming citizens is a huge priority," Fleming said. She likes the portion of the Massachusetts plan that enables small business employees and individuals to buy personal, portable health insurance of their choice.
Steward said there is a need for incentives for employers who provide health insurance. "We really need to get some direction as to how we are going to deal with our health care system in Wyoming. It may ultimately end up (becoming) a budget issue," he said.