CASPER, Wyo. — As the Aug. 18 primary election approaches, Oil City News is introducing candidate questionnaires to help voters make informed decisions at the ballot box.

Every candidate in the primary field was sent the same three questions and given a limit of 500 words, which could be distributed among their answers as they saw fit. To ensure a fair and direct line to the community, all responses are published exactly as submitted, without edits or alterations.

Candidates were asked:

• What are the most crucial challenges your constituents are facing?
• If elected, how will you address these challenges?
• What qualities or qualifications do you possess that have prepared you to meet these challenges?

Questionnaires are being published on a rolling basis online through Aug. 11. They will be accessible via the Oil City News Election Tracker.

Additionally, Oil City News will mail a comprehensive print voters guide directly to all Natrona County households in mid-July, featuring all questionnaires received by July 6.

Steve Harshman (R), Wyoming superintendent of public instruction

What are the most crucial challenges your constituents are facing?

Wyoming is blessed and full of abundance.  We are the best place to work, live and raise a family. We also have challenges that include the escalating cost of living, healthcare access and young people leaving our state.

If elected, how will you address these challenges?

As your State Superintendent I bring a record of solving problems with an eye on the future. As a member of the State Loan and Investment Board I will continue my work to grow our investments, to invest in ourselves and build infrastructure in our communities to lower the costs of housing. I have been the leader of property tax reform which keeps money in our pockets.

We will soon be training Physician Assistants in our state to produce more caregivers in our communities. I worked on this for years and it will soon benefit all of our communities. I championed the bill that permanently endowed our suicide prevention iniatives. Wyoming is now making progress in this area.

As a parent of four kids, I am focussed on our future. As a state leader I have promoted innovation, smart development and diversification. After the clean air act was passed in the early 70’s Governor Hathaway and the state loan and investment board went out and recruited the coal industry to Wyoming. Thank Goodness. I was the lead author of the Hathaway scholarship and insisted we honor a war hero and visionary leader who said yes to Wyoming’s future! I will say yes to our future as well!

What qualities/qualifications do you possess that have prepared you to meet these challenges?

I was born and raised in Natrona County. My Dad was an electrician who worked in the oil and gas business in Midwest and later Wright. I am the only candidate in this race who has worked on an oil rig and a ranch. I am a product of Wyoming public schools, my four kids are products of our schools. I have been blessed to serve as a lifelong teacher and coach and to serve our people in the Wyoming Legislature where I protected our rights, balanced budgets and kept our taxes low. As your Superintendent I realize our schools are the heartbeat of our communities, and the cornerstone of our republic. I realize every child has potential and working together we can unlock that potential. Wyoming has the highest percentage of kids enrolled in our public schools at 93%. Fifteen states test every junior on the ACT, Wyoming was #1 two years ago and 2nd last year. Our kids are always in the top 10 joining the military, our kids are patriots. Our 4th grade reading scores are some of the best in the nation. I understand most of our kids are blue collar and looking for promising careers in the trades. I authored the Hathaway scholarship. I saved the career technical education program at UW when they were going to close it. I will continue to work for our kids and our schools so our kids and grandkids can stay right here in Wyoming and live the American Dream!

Related

Think of Saturday’s rugby match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park as a very physical audition.

The Nations Cup showdown between the USA Men’s Eagles and Portugal on the Fourth of July is another chance for Denver — long an epicenter for American growth in the sport — to showcase itself as a host city for the 2031 World Cup.

“We had that great moment at Dick’s last year where we qualified for the World Cup (by beating Samoa in the Pacific Nations Cup),” said national team captain Jason Damm. “Any opportunity to get out here, sort of in the middle of the country, feels like a connection point for the nation. It’s a good way to kick off this Nations Cup.”

Damm’s professional rugby roots are in Colorado. The Georgia native played for a team in Vail and for the Glendale Raptors, a now-defunct Major League Rugby franchise. Damm thinks Denver would be a “great fit” for hosting the 2031 Men’s and 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cups, the first time the tournaments will be held in the U.S.

“We have a lot of guys now, and I’ve had the pleasure of playing with a lot of guys who went through that American Raptors program that was here for such a long time and really wanted to look after the development of some transition players (from other sports),” Damm said. “There’s just so much great rugby out here and good competitions.”

In addition to the legacy of the Glendale/American Raptors as well as burgeoning club and youth scenes, Denver is home to “Rugbytown USA,” the city of Glendale, which boasts the first rugby-specific stadium in the U.S. at Infinity Park. That’s where Colorado’s pro women’s team, the Denver Onyx, plays. The Onyx are the reigning champions of Women’s Elite Rugby.

And the college scene is solid, too, including strong performances by local women’s squads at this spring’s sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship, where CSU and CU placed in the Division I-AA tournament, Colorado Mesa was the Division II national champion and Mines was the Division III national champion.

All of that background makes Saturday another important milestone for rugby in Colorado. The Eagles have two locals in their player pool in prop Kaleb Geiger (Castle View High School) and lock Sam Golla (Denver East High School), but both players are coming off surgery and are not on the Nations Cup roster.

Golla, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLR Draft and the league’s 2023 rookie of the year, sees Saturday as another chance for Colorado to prove its support of the sport amid World Rugby’s ongoing selection process for the 2031 World Cup.