The following Letters to the Editor appeared in the July 1, 2026 edition of the Star Valley Independent.

Campaign Civility

Dear Editor

Last week I was disheartened to receive hate in my mailbox. In the form of a political mass mailer. A mailer that my children came bounding into the house carrying, asking what it meant.

Wyoming’s sitting secretary of state – currently in the race for Wyoming’s open US House of Representative seat –  spent tens of thousands of dollars to remind voters that he protected women’s sports in Wyoming. This is certainly a topic that resonates with the conservative base in Wyoming, so I can understand the why of his mailer. It’s the how of the mailer that is deeply problematic. Said politician’s message uses an AI slop caricature that plays up an oversimplified, grotesque stereotype of trans women. The mailer’s caricature reduces an entire group of unique individuals to a one-dimensional figure that is easier to dehumanize, hate, and commit violence towards.

Trans folks don’t deserve this. And, Wyoming’s voters deserve better. Voters should be provided with intelligent arguments and actual facts that support Fairness in Women’s Sports Act (Senate File 133 / SEA 92). The use of a hateful, fetishized caricature in place of intelligent arguments and actual facts strongly indicates that there are no intelligent arguments to be made, let alone actual facts to support them. (And let’s note here that Governor Gordon is on record saying he views the law as “overly draconian” and “discriminatory”.)

I was raised with a scripture passage that says “I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things”. I was also taught that all are God’s children. I do not understand what it means to be transgender, but this doesn’t excuse me from recognizing and respecting the humanity of those that experience a different walk of life than mine.  All this mailer accomplished in my home was me sitting down and taking the time to discuss transgenderism with my children (thank you Paula Stone Williams for your thoughtful Ted Ed talks on the topic).

I hope that critical thinking and respect for each other’s humanity are what guide our votes in upcoming elections.

Stephanie Henderson

Residential Property Taxes: Will Wyoming’s Local Governments Really Collapse?

By Amber Hyde

Disclaimer: The following article is protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and reflect the author’s opinions based on publicly available, information and legislative proceedings.

Wyoming residents have repeatedly been told that reducing residential property taxes would devastate local governments and force cuts to essential services. But do the numbers support that claim?

According to data from the Wyoming Department of Audit and the Wyoming Department of Revenue, the answer deserves closer scrutiny.

From Fiscal Year 2019 through Fiscal Year 2025, Wyoming’s state and local governments collected $105.1 billion in revenue while spending $91.3 billion, leaving a $13.8 billion surplus. At the end of FY2025, governments also reported approximately $42 billion in cash reserves.

The four local government entities that receive residential property tax revenue—school districts, counties, municipalities, and special districts—also appear financially strong. Together they generated a $4.3 billion surplus over the past seven years and ended FY2025 with $6.9 billion in cash reserves.

Residential property taxes have increased 73% since FY2019, while all other property tax categories combined increased 29%. Yet residential property taxes account for only 8% of total revenue for these four local government entities. The remaining 92% comes from other sources, including mineral severance taxes, commercial and industrial property taxes, sales taxes, grants, investment earnings, and service fees.

School districts receive 16% of their revenue from residential property taxes and reported a $1.1 billion surplus with $1.5 billion in reserves. Counties receive only 8% of their revenue from residential property taxes. Cities and towns receive just 1%, while special districts receive only 3%.

If residential property taxes were reduced by 50%, the impact would amount to roughly a 4% reduction in total local government revenue statewide.

That raises legitimate questions. If governments have accumulated multi-billion-dollar surpluses and reserve balances, why is any reduction portrayed as a threat to essential services? Have elected officials clearly identified what qualifies as an ‘essential service,’ and are all current expenditures truly essential?

These are questions worth asking before accepting claims that property tax relief would cripple Wyoming, and before electing your next state and local leaders.

Tax policy should be driven by audited financial data. Wyoming already has a State Auditor, independent audits, and oversight boards charged with identifying material weaknesses, financial misstatements, and failures in internal controls. When government accounts fail to reconcile, are those differences being properly investigated and corrected, or simply written off? Wyoming taxpayers deserve financial records that are accurate, balanced, and transparent—not years of unanswered questions. Accountability begins with honest books, independent oversight, and complete transparency to the public. Only then can citizens make informed decisions about taxes, government spending, and the leaders they elect.

Paid for by Amber Hyde