Campaign Finance 2020: Albany County Commission
Democrats flipped the commission this election, with newcomer Sue Ibarra defeating incumbent Terri Jones in a race so close it triggered an automatic recount. Ibarra will join fellow Democrat Pete Gosar in the commission’s majority party. The flip is likely to impact how the county deals with aquifer protection, wind regulations and, perhaps most pressingly, the pandemic. While new cases and other metrics are not as high as they were in the weeks surrounding the election itself, the virus continues to rage in Albany County.
The Commission consists of just three members, so whenever it considers a divisive issue, a two-person coalition is enough to win the day. Since the last election, the commission has been clearly divided between the two Republicans — Chair Terri Jones and Commissioner Heber Richardson — and the one Democrat, Peter Gosar.
That divide has been especially pronounced during the pandemic, during which Jones and Richardson have publicly shared conspiracy theories and confusion, respectively, about the spread and severity of the virus and measures proposed or taken in response. Jones even called the pandemic “totally politically motivated,” arguing that the political left “wants the pandemic because they want to socially divide everyone.”
By contrast, Commissioner Gosar runs the Downtown Clinic and, while he himself has no medical training, is in frequent contact with the healthcare workers who serve uninsured residents of the county. When Richardson suggested that the pandemic might burn through the county and eventually leave its residents safer because of “herd immunity,” it was Gosar who pointed out that such a course of action would involve the likely deaths of 1% to 2% of the county.
Gosar has insisted in various interviews that the pandemic is not political and that solutions and strategies need not be political either. But the divide on the commission is clear, and falls neatly and predictably along party lines.
Sue Ibarra raised $32,696.56 between the general and primary elections, raising more than $24,000 in the primary alone. Her average donation was $131.31 and she spent more than $500 of her own money throughout the cycle. Her top donors were Laramie residents, including several University of Wyoming professors and other educators. Her top donor was UW Professor Donal O’Toole, who was also the top donor for Rep. Karlee Provenza, HD-45.
Terri Jones raised significantly less, just $13,296.35 between the general and primary elections, spending less than half of that throughout the race. Her average donation was $309.22, and she spent $396.35 of her own money on the unsuccessful effort to keep her seat. Her top donors were Laramie residents and a political action committee representing the interests of Wyoming realtors. Another notable donor was Taylor Haynes, a former Wyoming gubernatorial candidate.
Klaus Halbsgut, an independent, was also in the race, running a smaller campaign that was almost entirely self-funded.
Sue Ibarra (Democrat)
Raised: $32,696.56
Spent: $29,659.89
Average Donation: $131.31
Own Money: $517
Contribution Breakdown:
$500 PAC
$2,400 Immediate family/personal
$27,284 Individual
$500 Political Parties
$1,972.56 In-Kind Contributions
$40 Unitemized Contributions
Top Donors:
$1,250 Donal O’Toole, a UW professor
$1,200 Gail Shive, a Laramie artist
$1,200 Sarah Gorin & Bern Hinckley, Laramie residents
$1,000 Armando Quiroz, a Denver resident
$1,000 Cathy Connolly, current representative for HD-13
$1,000 Morgan Hayes & Reed Zars, Laramie residents
$650 Phyllis Ibarra, a Powell, Wyoming resident
$500 Sandy & Charlie Ksir, Laramie Interfaith Treasurer and UW psychology professor, respectively
$500 Myron Allen, a UW mathematics professor
$500 Teri Lund & Ramsey Bentley, Laramie residents
$500 Barb & Terry Deshler, Laramie residents
$500 Albany County Democratic Central Committee
$500 Cowgirl Run Fund, a PAC that supports women running in Wyoming
Terri Jones (Republican)
Raised: $13,296.35
Spent: $4,608.52
Average Donation: $309.22
Own Money: $396.35
Contribution Breakdown:
$1,000 PAC
$396.35 Immediate family/personal
$10,310 Individual
$1,590 In-Kind Contributions
Top Donors:
$1,250 Joe Ahrenholtz, a Laramie resident
$1,000 Debra Forry, a Laramie resident
$1,000 Wyoming Realtors PAC,a political action committee representing realtors in Wyoming
$1,000 Mark Watson, a Laramie resident
$1,000 C.L. Burton, a Laramie resident, former Ivinson Memorial Hospital trustee
$550 Glenn Moniz, outgoing senator representing SD-10
$500 Tom & Karen Bienz, an orthopedic surgeon and former Albany County School District No. 1
trustee, respectively
$500 Gary & Kim Negich, former President of Interstate Bank (who once wrote a song about his love
for Wyoming Public Radio) and vice president of the IMH Foundation, respectively
$500 Marilyn Stover, a Laramie resident
$500 Kelly Cole, a Centennial resident
$500 Taylor Haynes, former gubernatorial candidate
$500 Joni Reyes, a Wheatland rancher
Klaus Halbsgut (Independent)
Raised: $4,905.19
Spent: $4,803.72
Average Donation: $1,226.30*
Own Money: $3,805.19
Contribution Breakdown:
$3,805.19 Immediate family/personal
$1,100 Individual
Top Donors:
$3,805.19 Klaus Halbsgut
$1,000 Richard Weron
*Halbsgut's average donation calculation counts all self-donations as one and ignores interest payments from Bank of the West. Halbsgut, largely self-funded, received individual donations from three other people, two of whom donated $50 a piece, one of whom donated $1,000.
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