Candidate Climate Survey

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint?" I support much of what JHCAC supports: the creation of a Climate Action Department with a paid staff to create a Climate Action Plan. This is right next to an Equity Department - and equity and climate justice go hand in hand. I recognize the finite amount of time we have to act and I've been tracking the IPCC for over a decade. I can't say definitively what I would commit to doing in the first year because I need to do more research. However, there is a number of model green cities around the world to examine and implement best practices for places like Jackson. There are so many intersecting issues, including financial even if we pass the 7th cent sales tax, moving forward at the local level that we need to tackle. I'm thankful I'll be one member of five to figure all of these things out."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "Community members with less money/means will have a hard time adapting to really stringent expensive measures - food and shelter always come first as expenses. As a town, we need to consider how we enable all community members to take the action we all need to take to reach our 2030 goal. 

Climate justice is a subject that has often troubled me on a global scale too. We, wealthy countries create global warming through our lifestyles, and then the poorer countries pay for it, i.e. Global North v Global South, climate refugees, sinking coastlines, disappearing of islands, etc. Like many issues, COVID included, any societal for global disaster always disproportionately affect the poor."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "Wow. That's the question. So much of what we can do here in Teton County policywise to combat climate change from a lifestyle or economic level depends largely on Wyoming law. We have a battle between public good and "capitalism." We need a paradigm shift locally with developers and those looking at profit as an end goal as well as with the state legislators. Sadly, I have very little hope we'll move too many state legislators in the direction of giving us the ability to infringe on the rights of people to build or buy property freely. 

On that note though, I will go to Cheyenne and lobby the hell out of lawmakers. My hope is the financial squeeze the state is about to face could potentially open the eyes of the newly elected (farther right) legislators to the need to take dramatic action from a revenue perspective. Ideally, they'd see things with a sustainability and renewable resource lens as a means to cut spending overall. Extraction industries will no longer fund our state and hopefully, we'll be forced into a new mindset. Maybe that will bring a paradigm shift. Here's hoping. 

Locally, a very specific action we need to take is to address the traffic and travel in the busy tourist season by developing better public transportation into the parks eliminating car travel as a National Park experience here as has been done in other National Parks."

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint? "As I mentioned in during the Conservation Alliance's candidates forum, I respectfully disagree with the International Panel on Climate Change's suggestion that we have 10 years to act. We must act now. Jackson Hole is a bulwark for environmental and wildlife conservation. We have been a role model to the nation and planet for over 100 years. I am a unifier who can form teams and bring people to the center of even the most controversial of issues. This is WHERE and HOW progress is made. Unilateral efforts that lack whole community engagement typically accomplish very little. As long as climate change is an overtly partisan and political issues, versus a scientific reality, progress with be thwarted.

Action! Creating an impactful and common sense approach to fighting climate change will require principled compromise and concrete endeavors. I plan to first engage our community youth in this pursuit, for they have the most to lose, yet the smallest voice. I will work with staff to re-examine and refocus our recycling efforts. Public and non-vehicle transportation alternatives must continue to be expanded and incentivized. I will start a "Lights Off & Heat Down" initiative to bring basic awareness to easy energy saving/carbon reduction solutions.
I will engage with the local business community to once and for all, step into our role as leaders on this complex and controversial issue. I will work with the local school district to support recycling and energy/carbon savings programs. Thank You."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "The goal of government should be to "...make the right thing easy," versus a punitive approach. We cannot create climate change solutions that unfairly impact some of the more vulnerable members of our community. Government incentives serve as a more equitable manner in which to pursue climate change goals. For example, free access to public transportation should be explored. Incentives for walking, cycling, and/or car pooling should be instituted. I plan to add several smaller recycling stations near lower income neighborhoods to make recycling more accessible to folks who struggle with collection and transportation options. Smaller businesses also need to be able to compete with larger companies on an equal playing field. Complex problems call for complex solutions, not a "one size fits all" approach. I also think that climate change "resolutions" must be anchored with smart and measurable action plans."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "Once again, citizens should be incentivized for helping to make the 2030 climate change and carbon reduction resolution a reality. I am not naive when it comes to the economic realities of our valley, yet believe that we can unite to make real progress on these critical issues. We all share a deep reverence for Jackson Hole, which can serve as a unifying power, if channeled correctly. Eco-tourism must begin to serve as our mantra, environmentally sensitive real estate and construction must be celebrated. Real communication, collaboration and teamwork must be fostered by a community leader with the skills to bring people together towards positive change. I am proud to be a community member and citizen with over 20 years of this exact type of unifying leadership. I adopted the "United We Stand" campaign slogan because I know that we must first forge "unity in our community" in order to positively change and evolve in the face of several highly complex and problematic issues."

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint? "Optimizing our current transportation infrastructure before building new roads (Tribal Trails Connector) or widening existing ones (Hwy 22); ensuring growth (northern South Park) is managed in a responsible manner that incorporates development within the larger context of its community-wide impact; evaluating, assessing and accounting for the real costs of our carbon footprint in our transportation and building choices."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "Health disparities and inequities often are correlated with such factors as limited access to and low quality of available public spaces, as well as lesser degrees of representation and participation in the process of shaping and maintaining them. Planning for climate mitigation must especially address underresourced communities, where health risks are greatest and resources least available.
Just as we must invest disproportionately in under-resourced communities to insure equitable access is inclusive and equitable, we must invest disproportionately in equity and inclusion if we are to revolutionize our approach to planetary and human wellbeing."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "While starting Alpinist Magazine in 2001 led me to believe human-powered outdoor recreation can and should create our next generation of conservation leaders, running SHIFT has led me to adopt a “Place First” approach—one that prioritizes the needs of the community and its habitat ahead of those of special interest groups.

“Place First” forms the bedrock of my perspective for Jackson Hole as well. If elected for Teton County Commission, I pledge to bring my experience as an innovator, thought leader and social entrepreneur to our workforce housing, transportation, conservation and public health challenges, including as they relate to climate change.

It’s the only way to preserve the qualities that make Jackson Hole special."

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint? "I feel the same sense of urgency when it comes to reducing our local impact on climate change, and I believe that our public transit system holds the key for doing so. According to the recent Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study, local ground transportation makes up roughly 60% of our overall emissions. Our strategy should focus on deploying the most efficient and frequent START service that we can. This has been my focus since joining the START Board 18 months ago. By reducing bus trip times to be more competitive with drive times and offering employer-funded passes to commuters, we hope that bus ridership will increase significantly (at least once the pandemic ends). Getting our residents (and especially employees) to ride the buses instead of drive their cars represents the most impactful way that we can reduce our local emissions. As a Commissioner, I will support the implementation of a new route plan and support increasing the frequency of our commuter routes as funds are derived from our partnerships with local businesses and organizations."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "The issue here is social. Most agree that the most basic need for folks in Teton County is housing. While we have done a pretty fair job of building publicly-subsidized housing for middle class residents, we have done very little to help ease the housing strains on the working class families who keep our hotels, restaurants, and other businesses running year round.
Low end housing options are rapidly disappearing from our local portfolio. I would support the construction of dense, truly affordable housing dedicated to the working class families in our valley. This development would require an appropriate site, preferably within town limits."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "Teton County has and always will be a destination for millions of visitors each year. We need to continue our efforts to educate our visitors about our bus options, our bag ordinance, and our general mission to be good stewards of this special place. In order to provide for the critical housing needs of our working residents, I am interested in working with all local partners to get workforce housing in the ground. In order to ensure that it does not turn into more second homes, it is important that we restrict as much as possible so that it is only available to folks who work in our county. We must ensure that these restrictions are crafted carefully to avoid loopholes.
Housing 65% of our workforce locally while deploying a more effective transit system is the most realistic path forward to actually reducing our carbon footprint."

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint? "I believe we have the opportunity to lead by example in Teton County, and that starts by getting our own house in order. Teton County adopted a Sustainability Strategy in 2017. Some progress has been made to date, but more attention – and funding – is needed. Specifically, we need to implement a framework that holistically considers GHG emission in all County operational decisions, even if that means a project or a particular item costs more. The big picture goals organizationally are to move toward net carbon neutral fleets and facilities and net zero energy use capability in County facilities. Priorities for me within the implementation include:

- Establish a system for evaluating and prioritizing facility projects based on triple bottom line and sustainability criteria.
- Develop a County-wide environmentally preferable purchasing policy that includes standardized language for vendor contractors and requirements.
- Establish sustainable building best practices.
- Implement an environmentally preferable purchasing policy as part of our formal and informal procurement practices, especially with regards to vehicle and equipment purchase.
- Develop a green building policy that specifies standards for facility design, construction, and maintenance, and includes consideration of 1) increased recycling materials in construction, procurement, and design; 2) minimum space requirements for recycling collection in facility design; and 3) lifecycle consideration of materials.
- Establish a plan for diversion of construction and demolition (C&D) waste that includes 1) minimizing construction waste with resource efficient design, 2) increasing recycling and reuse of C&D waste, including through enhanced materials surplus recovery and sale, and 3) requiring construction and demolition waste management system plans in all construction contracts.
- Evaluate installation of green roofs on County buildings.
- Monitor and improve fleet fuel use.

There are many other actions to take with the implementation plan, and it is ambitious to consider all of these simultaneously. However, given the number and scale of capital projects on the horizon, I have prioritized the items above because of the opportunity to do our best during the upcoming project development phases for buildings that will serve the community for decades into the future. Longer term, we also need to consider increasing on-site renewable energy generation capacity. In particular, I have previously supported and will continue to support reducing the carbon footprint of our affordable housing projects.

On a community level, I will continue to fund incentives for shared rides and transit such as increasing our commuter runs and expanding business partnerships to capture more employees. We must strengthen our regional partnerships to accomplish this.

In the end, the change we want to see is reducing our society’s need for consumption, which also means focusing on reducing our waste stream. I will continue to support expanding our recycling center operations, prioritizing waste diversion, and expanding food waste/composting opportunities.

Perhaps, as we all evaluate the unusual experiences of 2020 and the global pandemic we continue to fight, we can work together to reframe what we prioritize as a society and how we assign value. A lofty endeavor, but one that is necessary to make progress."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "We need to ensure that a greater diversity of voices are included across all policymaking in Teton County. This means reconsidering some of our usual planning practices. It means intentionally identifying who is absent from the conversation and creating a space to bring those constituencies and experiences to the table. And, ultimately, I believe it means reconnection with the Indigenous people who first lived and stewarded this land. As we commit to certain practices as a community, we may also find that costs go up. We must maintain clear communication and cross-sector partnerships to ensure we are taking care of our most vulnerable as we push for systemic change."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "We have to be intentional about our economic development. As referenced above, this means including the voices that have historically been left out of these conversations, like undocumented community members and Indigenous people. Additionally, we need to collectively do the work to define the economy we want that is aligned with our shared community values. If we do not define it, it will be defined by the forces at play. This was discussed during the Growth Management Plan process. We cannot divorce our environmental stewardship from the people who live here and their needs. We have to approach them together. With the global pandemic spotlighting economic weaknesses and our reliance tourism proving unsustainable, now is the time." 

1. What policies would you implement in your first year in office to reduce our carbon footprint? "The statewide picture is that Wyoming is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for our tax revenue base. Working on moving us toward a more well rounded tax structure that doesn't keep us addicted to specific industries will help move us away from continually trying to prop up fossil fuels on the state level."

2. How do you think we can equitably take part in climate action? "We need a stronger social safety net on both the state and federal level to help provide people with the opportunities to transition when change comes, so they are not just fighting for survival."

3. How will you pass policies that create an economy that regenerates our landscape and dramatically reduces our carbon footprint? "This is more the domain of local and county electeds. However, I want to work with them to provide them options that they may not yet have with regards to being able to do land use planning that leads to better environmental outcomes. I am open to suggestions to what those unknown options yet are."