That small town with long streets phrase?  It resonated July 3 at the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Park in Cody, as everyone there was able to walk right up to their state’s top leadership, in Cheyenne and Washington, D.C., to shake a hand and chat. 

For most of the politicians, elections are not yet breathing down their necks. It was simply a chance for people to look their political leaders in the face and talk.  No surprise, I’d say that’s still the best way to communicate, especially when it’s people you may disagree with. 

And, yes, the Freedom Celebration is hosted by the Park County Republican Party, but it was an event open to all, naturally including those who may not agree with our all red state delegation,  not to mention local, politicians. So, hats off to all of those who did show up and made themselves available — new Secretary of State Chuck Gray even shouted out his cellphone number to the crowd. In a state where Republican politics can often seem about as divided as the blue-red divide nationally, it says something to see Gov. Mark Gordon chat amiably with a bunch of people who may very well have backed his last gubernatorial opponent, Brent Bien, the day’s keynote speaker. 

And, going back to that classic Wyoming phrase, Cheyenne is a long way from Cody, Powell and the rest of the Big Horn Basin. Heck, if I watch “local” TV news it’s broadcast from another state. And, while it’d be nice to see our state leaders make the 25-minute drive from Cody to Powell more often, it’s still an honor to have them all come to the region, and many make a habit of it. 

It’s easy to look at a politician’s actions and cynically see them as always campaigning, always out for themselves. But these are our fellow Wyomingites, and in making themselves so available, they are making a point not to be seen as being on some sort of pedestal, but instead as fellow citizens, who happen at the moment to be in leadership positions. Talk to them in person, and you hear far more than campaign speak.  It’s not uncommon for them to open up about their personal lives, of their own struggles and those experienced by many others around the state, and how they deal with them.  It’s a time to compare shared passions — I heard at least one mention of fall huntings tags acquired or not — and hopes for the future. 

So, while it may be a long street from this area to the state capital — we won’t even talk about the distance to Washington, D.C. — it’s nice to see it being traveled so frequently.