Governor candidate Throne visits

Wyoming native and Democratic candidate for Governor, Mary Throne, stopped in at Storyteller last week, fielding questions from folks on her thoughts about the state and where we're going in the future.

A Cheyenne attorney, Throne served as the assistant attorney general for Wyoming from 1992-1999.

Throne has been in the Wyoming House of Representatives since 2007 and was a fighter for reducing the amount of standardized tests Wyoming students are subjected to.

She talked extensively with those gathered at Storyteller about schools in Wyoming.

"Don't tear down something that is working," she said. "Education is the key driver to our economic success. We need to find different funding sources."

Throne pointed out the reason education costs so much in Wyoming is each area costs differently. The educational needs are the same across the board, however the costs are different for, say, Wright than they are for a district like Cheyenne.

The failure of the government in Wyoming to expand Medicare for its citizens is a frustrating issue for Throne.

"This increases everyone's costs," she said. "They refused to take federal government dollars. Our legislature let party politics get in the way. There was absolute support from everywhere (for the expansion).

"We cannot build the economy we want with a failed healthcare system. Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy."

Expanding Medicare would have helped with mental health issues as well, something that is in the forefront of school and other mass shootings. Throne said we need to spend more now to save more in the end.

One of the reasons Throne stepped into the political arena in the first place was that she got tired of seeing the same thing done, over and over, expecting different results, including the perpetual 'boom and bust' of Wyoming's economy.

"We cannot expect minerals to save us again," she said. "We need to take control of our own destiny."

This all falls in line with her stance on education being the key to our economy, looking at other funding sources and making sure our future generations are prepared to step into those job opportunities in various fields.

Another question that arose during the meet and greet was the future of the Wyoming Pioneer Home, something that is more local in nature.

"I don't think it's a good idea to privatize it," she said. "Its an historic building, a great facility. Jumping on the privatization bandwagon doesn't always pay off in the end.

"If you don't listen to the local people, you're in trouble."