January newsletter

A quick note from our Chair, Annette:

Dear Teton County Dems-

I recently reached out to a member of the Teton County GOP to suggest a meeting focused on finding common ground. I had hoped we could discuss Wyoming and Teton County priorities beyond party platforms, but received the following response:

"We have zero in common politically, so no reason for a coffee meeting. And I have been a huge supporter of the Freedom Caucus nationally and in WY."

It is clear that such a dialogue is not possible at this time. Our greatest opportunity to make a difference this year is to reduce the Freedom Caucus majority in the Legislature. I ask that we all work together to ensure our voices are heard and to protect our state and democracy.

I would also like to share these words from John Pavlovitz:

"This isn’t a battle to change the minds of the few who refuse to be changed. That horse is dead. It also isn’t a test to see if we can manufacture the same hatred and vitriol for them as they dispense toward us.

This is a golden moment for the vast, sprawling army of good people who believe in the beauty of diversity and in a fully accessible America to speak unequivocally, on our social media profiles, at family gatherings, in our church meetings, and most of all, in the voting booth. We don’t need to convince or coddle or win over hatred, and we don’t need to outdo it either.

We need to outnumber it.
We need to outlast it.
We need to outlove it.
We need to outvote it.
And we will."

Best regards,

Annette Osnos
Chair, Teton County Democrats

Greetings fellow democrats!

We are in the middle of January, and as is usual, after a good bunch of snow, the weather is now dry and cold. Slopes are getting a bit icy, and the sun is out when it matters. We encourage everyone to get outside, when you can, to enjoy and get some time away from the dreary news.

Politically, things are difficult for Wyoming. The Freedom Caucus is hard at work dismantling as many of our hard won freedoms as possible, from cutting the University of Wyoming budget to gutting the Wyoming Business Council, while debating how to use a heavy influx of federal $ ($205 million in Federal Rural Health Transformation) for our rural healthcare system.

However, despite all this, we have had an enormous win, when the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that abortion is healthcare.
Yet, we face many, many uphill challenges, especially at the State level. More on that in our next newsletter!

Local concerns

The Town Council will be having a discussion about the Comprehensive Plan on Wednesday, January 21st. It will only be online. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, and provide comment on what you would like to see the Comp plan achieve for our town.

This weeks Town Council meeting is packed full of important items-from Land Development Regulations to 90 Virginian lane, a lot will be discussed.

In addition to this, there is a serious effort to undermine our National Refuge system and Fish Hatcheries, in the nation, and potentially remove some, if not all, through a review of "sites that no longer align with the mission" of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Our Teton County Commissioners wrote a letter of support for our National Elk Refuge and Fish Hatchery.

Executive Committee update

Your executive committee has been hard at work making connections within our community at large, and linking up with the executive committees from other counties, most recently the Fremont County Dems. We will be working together to make sure we have a strong base to support our local and state candidates, to beat the Freedom Caucus out of Wyoming. We will be reaching out to other counties as well, simply because there is not only strength in numbers, but also to work together towards a better, stronger Wyoming!

Get involved! We are in the process of forming multiple committees to tackle the many pressing issues facing the many and varied communities of Wyoming. From wildlife to housing, gender discussions to book banning, we will be tackling it all. Email or call us at (307) 264-0240