Although only two of the candidates are facing each other in the primary election on Tuesday, three House candidates took to the stage at Northwest College during the candidate forum hosted by the Park County Republican Women.

In 2014, Dan Laursen and Dave Blevins were up against each other in the race for House District 25. Blevins was seeking re-election at the time and Laursen won the vote — now the duo is up for a rematch.

Rep. Dave Northrup, House District 50, is facing Democratic candidate Mike Specht and is not running against Blevins or Laursen — but that didn’t stop him from joining in on the forum with the HD 25 candidates.

Each of the candidates had different responses when asked what is Wyoming’s best asset.

Blevins said it’s renewable resources such as water and then wildlife as second-most important.

Northrup said all of Wyoming is valuable and that the state needs to look for other places to get revenue.

Laursen said minerals and mineral wealth were the best asset for the state since they keep taxes low, which draws people to Wyoming.  

Renovation for the capitol building in Cheyenne is underway for $300 million, and candidates were asked what their opinion was of the project considering the state’s decreased budget.

Northrup pointed out that the older portion of the building needed worked on, but the Herschler Building didn’t necessarily need to be included. He also said the capitol building had electrical issues and fire protection problems — but the state could have spent less and got “the same bang for our buck,” Northrup said.

Laursen echoed Northrup’s concerns about fire safety in the building and added that the public needed to be better informed on what the project included — a large portion of the cost is for a HVAC system in the Herschler Building and then some is for renting space for the displaced departments, he said.

Blevins followed up by pointing out that the money was set aside prior to the downturn over 10-12 years.

The candidates were then asked a broad question about education funding and setting standards and each responded optimistically about the state’s education system.

Laursen said he hears a lot about how schools are doing from his wife, who is a teacher.  

Blevins said he was concerned about Wyoming’s youth leaving the state after graduation. He also pointed out that Common Core is not a federally mandated program — it is run by the state and he supports it.

Northrup pointed to Tuesday’s issue of the Powell Tribune where it was reported that recent PAWS test scores were high in Powell, but other parts of the state are having trouble on the tests. He said the state needs to make sure each school district is treated fairly.

Budgeting for the state is a major part of the Legislature, so candidates were asked where they would cut budgets first.

Talking to the people in each department and finding out where cuts can be made would mean budgets could be cut in places that make sense as opposed to mandating a percentage from the top, Northrup said.

Laursen pointed out that having 90 legislators on the floor can make it difficult to have everyone on the same page and that cutting by a percentage means losing personnel.

Blevins suggested spreading the cuts around so that the larger cuts are made to the departments that can handle them. This means getting as many people involved as possible, he said.

Unlike Wyoming’s budget, the federal budget is not Constitutionally mandated to be balanced. Efforts are underway to stage a Constitutional Convention — essentially opening up the 240-year-old document and changing it to require a balanced federal budget. This effort takes 34 states’ approval and efforts are underway for Wyoming to join the 28 others that are already onboard.

Laursen was a co-sponsor for the bill to join in. He said the national debt will be devastating to future generations and needs to be fixed.

Blevins said he was concerned about opening up the Constitution since that risks making other changes to it. At the same time, he said he is concerned about the national debt and is “disappointed” in how federal funds are spent.

Northrup added that opening the Constitution could risk losing the Second Amendment.

“You and I and all of us live in a balanced budget, but the feds don’t,” Northrup said. “We need to say ‘you need to get your house in order.’”

Representing the northwestern corner of the state means keeping lines of communication open, and each of the candidates listed multiple venues of communication they would use if elected.

Blevins, Northrup and Laursen each cited email as a route for getting in touch with them during the Legislature.

“If we don’t communicate with you, then Cheyenne doesn’t recognize the northwest corner unless they want money,” Blevins said.

Laursen urged residents to write personal emails as opposed to form letters and to identify themselves as residents from his area since those emails get top priority for responses. He also suggested having teleconferences for committee meetings so people around the state can chime in without having to drive seven hours to Cheyenne.

Northrup said he also likes to hold town hall meetings with locals and often receives phone calls.

Just like the other segments of the forum, the House candidates were asked about the legalization of marijuana — both recreationally and medically. None of the candidates were in favor of recreational marijuana.

Blevins said he has mixed feelings on medical marijuana and wants to know the results from the “Colorado experiment.”

“Look at southern Wyoming — they go buy it and as soon as they cross the line it is illegal and it is creating a hardship,” Laursen said of recreational marijuana. “Medical marijuana has a place, but not in Wyoming.”  

Laursen said he is against legalizing marijuana both medically and recreationally.

“It is out of control and so scary —  you pull them over and don’t know if you can convict them,” Laursen said.

He also said people need to understand there are concentrated edible forms of marijuana that are concerning.

The candidates’ responses were more diverse when asked what the most important duty is as a legislator.

Northrup said it’s to represent the people in your district and make yourself accountable and balance the state’s budget. He pointed out that the state dipped into reserves and used $200 million for the current budget.

“At that burn rate ... we are going to burn that up in less than eight years,” Northrup said. “We have to control how much comes out of it.”

Laursen noted that balancing the state’s budget is a requirement and that Gov. Matt Mead makes the initial budget proposal. He said the entire Legislature needs to work together to not use the reserve funds.  

Blevins emphasized communicating with constituents while deciding where to cut the budget. He also said infrastructure needs to be protected.

Wyoming’s Constitution states the attorney general be appointed by the governor, instead of elected by the public. A member of the audience asked if the candidates would support allowing that to be changed and each of them were receptive of the idea.

Another resident asked about mandating a tax without the consent of the voters and the candidates’ answers were more varied.

Laursen said it depends on the issue and Blevins said it depends on how fast they need to get things done. Larger issues such as creating a state income tax should have a public vote, said both Blevins and Northrup.