Democrat Cindy Riegel and Republican Taylor Barlow seek Teton County Commission seat

Taylor Barlow and Cindy Riegel | Jeff Hough and Lisa Alexander
VICTOR — Incumbent Cindy Riegel, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Taylor Barlow for the Teton County Commission District 1 seat.
To learn more about the candidate’s platform, EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each candidate. Their unedited responses, listed below, were required to be 250 words or less.
To learn more about Cindy Riegel click here.
To learn more about Taylor Barlow click here.
Tell us about yourself — include information about your family, career, education, volunteer work and any prior experience in public office.
Barlow: Father, husband, outdoorsman, entrepreneur, small business owner – those words do a good job of describing me. My wife and I, and now our two children, have lived in Teton Valley for almost twenty years. My family has been in Idaho for five generations – ancestors who dug the canals, broke the soil and built the communities. I have a Bachelor’s degree in business and have founded and operate two businesses. I live to be on the rivers and in the mountains. Because of my love for Teton valley and respect for its heritage and the people who live here, I feel an obligation to give back and this is my first experience in a public office.
Riegel: I have been a Teton County Commissioner for almost six years and have discovered that working as a local elected official representing my community is very rewarding. I have enjoyed learning the ins and outs of local government, including everything from waste management to planning & zoning to county budgeting. It is challenging at times, especially the past 8 months with the Covid-19 pandemic, but I love my job.
I grew up in upstate New York and moved to Wyoming after graduating from college. During the summer of 1995, I worked as a research assistant for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and explored much of Teton Valley in search of nesting birds of prey. I still enjoy exploring the far reaches of Teton Valley with my friends and family. I have three children ages 16, 13 and 9.
I earned my Master’s Degree in 2000 and worked in environmental consulting in Jackson, commuting over Teton Pass, for several years. That is what exposed me to local land-use planning. Seeing what was happening in Jackson inspired me to get involved in planning on my side of the Tetons nearly 20 years ago.
I served on the Economic Development Committee for the 2002 Comprehensive Plan and was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission before deciding to run for County Commissioner in 2014. I am a member of the 7th Judicial District Magistrate Commission and serve on the Board of Directors for Full Circle Education, Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership, and High Country Resource Conservation and Development.
What are your proudest accomplishments in your personal life or career?
Riegel: As the current Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, I am proud of my leadership in the county’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, especially the early coordinated response that I established with the Mayors of Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia along with Teton Valley Health. I also helped organize and stand-up Teton County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the Unified Command Team. As a result, we have been successful at slowing the spread of the virus in our community, especially compared to the rest of Eastern Idaho right now.
I am also proud of several collaborative projects and initiatives that I have been involved in since becoming a County Commissioner. A few examples include:

Established Teton County’s Joint Housing Authority, in collaboration with the cities, and approved the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan that is currently being implemented to help locals with housing security.
Completed the Bates Boat Ramp/Buxton River Park project to improve public access to the Teton River.
Dissolved Teton County’s Ambulance Service District to reduce unnecessary property taxes ($600,000/year) and assisted with the transition of all EMS services to Teton County Fire/EMS.
Helped obtain 20 million dollars in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve mobility and public safety along the congested ID-33/WY-22 corridor through collaboration with partners on both sides of the Tetons.
Prevented development of a county-owned parcel adjacent to Teton Creek and supported construction of a new pathway for recreation and improved public access.
Leveraged funds from Teton Valley Hospital to assist nonprofits that serve community members in need (Food Bank, Senior Center, Community Resource Center, Mental Health Coalition).

Barlow: This may sound corny, but other than my remarkable family, the accomplishment from which I gain the most satisfaction is: I have found a way to support my family while living in this amazingly-beautiful and recreation-filled valley among some of the greatest people in the world.
Why are you a member of the Republican/Democrat/Independent/Other party? Briefly explain your political platform.
Barlow: I am a Republican because of my deep and abiding belief in the freedoms articulated in our founding documents. I believe in common sense, facts, science, importance of family, religious freedom, individual liberty and most importantly, in equal opportunity for every citizen of this nation.
My execution of the duties of public office will be guided by a focus on fairness, balance and principled-decision making. Ideology must take a backseat to ensuring that correct principles are applied to every decision I might be called upon to make while in office.
Riegel: I strive to serve everyone in my community regardless of race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, religion or political affiliation. All voices matter to me. That is why I am a Democrat.
I care deeply about Teton Valley and want to make sure we maintain what is unique and special about this place while growing in a smart, sustainable way.
As development picks up again, we can’t afford to make the same mistakes of the past. We need experienced and visionary leaders willing to plan for our community’s future rather than sit back and watch Teton Valley get ruined.
As a County Commissioner, my decisions are based around two key priorities:

Creating opportunities for the people who live here (jobs, housing, education)
Protecting what is unique and special about Teton Valley (agriculture, public access, natural resources)

What are the greatest challenges facing your county?
Riegel: Growth Management has been an ongoing issue facing Teton County for years, and Covid-19 has instigated another development frenzy here. We are overdue for new zoning and land development regulations to meet the goals of the Teton County Comprehensive Plan (2012). Unfortunately, the public outreach process was put on hold due to the pandemic. When reelected, I will ensure that we move forward with modernizing our zoning and land development regulations so that they effectively protect human health and safety, foster organized growth, provide predictability for residents, and conserve the natural resources and beauty of Teton Valley.
Honoring the ecosystem we live in is a top priority for me. As we go about our daily lives, it is too easy to forget that we live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The county can and should be doing more to work with Idaho Fish and Game, local non-profits, and our public land managers to ensure that we adequately protect critical wildlife habitat as we continue to grow and develop. This includes evaluating the impact of new commercial uses on the Teton River and mitigating roadkill hotspots.
Securing the future of farming and ranching is essential for maintaining our agricultural heritage and open spaces while growing our regional food system. As the county representative on the Teton Food and Farm Coalition (organized and led by the Teton County Extension Educator), I will continue to prioritized policies, initiatives, and grant proposals that support our farmers and ranchers while incentivizing more food and farm based businesses.
Barlow: In recent months, Teton County has seen a tremendous increase in demand for housing, at all levels. If this demand continues, the county will experience increased stress in every area,including infrastructure, taxation and budgeting. We need to facilitate quality growth in ways that can keep up with demand. There are many constituents in the valley with starkly divergent views on what constitutes quality growth. Establishing the proper framework for effectively managing the county – while supporting the creation of quality jobs, market-driven housing solutions and sustainable economic development – will be a tremendous challenge.
How is your party’s ideology better suited to dealing with these unique challenges than those of your competitor?
Barlow: The bedrock principles of the Republican Party include an unshakable belief in the American project and that communities are capable of meeting any challenge effectively when the government becomes a facilitator – not the epicenter – to innovation, business growth and individual responsibility.
The party of my competitor believes that government has the right to impose the will of elites and special interests into the lives and business of the people. The events of recent months have proven that Democrats are extremely capable of destroying city after city with dangerous illogical policies such as defunding law enforcement and lax criminal justice, coupled with policies that have crushed the economies of their communities.
Riegel: I have worked with three different boards in my time as a County Commissioner. They were made up of a mix of Republicans and Democrats. When it comes to local government, political affiliation does not play a big role. However, I have noticed a difference in how our Democratic and Republican County Commissioners approach issues that Teton County is facing.
Democratic County Commissioners are more proactive and collaborative in their approach to solving problems while Republican County Commissioners tend to sit back and hope the free market will solve all of our growth problems. That clearly did not work on the other side of the Tetons. I don’t know anyone in Teton Valley who wants to become the next Jackson Hole – unless they are in the land development business, like my opponent’s father is.
Another difference is our support of the Joint Housing Authority that was established collaboratively by Teton County and the cities of Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia in 2018.
While the Democratic County Commissioner candidates are in full support of proactive measures to provide housing security for locals, as outlined in Teton County’s Affordable Housing Strategic Plan, the Republican candidates are opposed to this collaborative approach to addressing the affordable housing crisis in our community. These views were expressed during a recent public forum that was recorded and posted on the Teton Valley News Facebook page.
How will you best represent the views of your constituents – even those with differing political views?
Riegel: Political affiliation is not something I consider when serving the people in my community. I am everybody’s County Commissioner, and I make that known through my actions. I have many Republican supporters who know that I don’t care about political affiliation and want to work together to solve problems and create a better future for everyone. I have also earned the respect of Republican County Commissioners from across the state through my service on boards and committees with them.
One concern I have is that our Hispanic population is very underrepresented in local government. My plan, which I have already started implementing, is to reach out and make sure we have more Latina/Latino members of the community on advisory boards and commissions, like the Joint Housing Authority Board. This is an important step in amplifying the voice of our minority populations in order to ensure their needs are being met and their ideas are being implemented. This will require translating announcements, agendas, and newsletters into Spanish.
It is important that everyone knows how to voice their concerns to local elected leaders during public meetings and outside of public meetings. I believe there is a lot more education we can be doing on how local government works in our community and how to voice your opinion. I plan to be a champion for enhancing involvement in local government during my next term with the ultimate goal of inspiring more people to run for public office.
Barlow: A diversity of views and opinions, when respectfully shared and worked through, will result in the best possible outcome for communities facing any type of challenge. It is when elected officials slavishly follow the wishes of favored special interests that conflicts surface. Such is the case in Teton County. We have a wonderful abundance of experience and diversity coming from people of all walks of life that will enable us to continue making Teton Count a remarkable place to live and raise a family. We must be careful however to make certain that well-funded groups do not usurp the rights and desires of the silenced majority. I will welcome input from every possible perspective.
What trait, attribute, or experience do you possess that best qualifies you to manage public employees and handle public funding?
Barlow: I have founded and run two businesses and have had to balance the sometimes-competing interests of employees, customers, investors, and lenders. I understand that more revenue can never keep up with a failure to manage and control expenses. I also understand that tax dollars are sacred funds that should be carefully managed and are not the right of government to take in ever increasing amounts.
Riegel: I have been managing public employees and public funding for nearly six years and have demonstrated a high level of commitment to the job. Teton County is audited every year, and we have received high marks from our auditor on our financial management practices and have a healthy reserve fund in case of emergencies.
It takes a good two years for new County Commissioners to figure out all the intricacies of how county funding and budgeting works. I am known as the Commissioner that asks a lot of questions during budget meetings. That is because I take this part of my job very seriously and strive to stay educated on financial issues facing Teton County so that we can use taxpayer money wisely and plan appropriately for the future.
Because it is complicated, there are numerous training opportunities on managing public funds. As an active member of the Idaho Association of Counties (IAC), I attend all the trainings that I can to better understand my role as a steward of public funds. That said, even after 6 years, there is more to learn, especially with annual legislative changes that impact property taxes and county budgeting.
On the public employee front, the BoCC supervises the Operations Manager, Public Works Director, Planning Director, Building Department Manager, Emergency Manager, Information Technology Manager and GIS Coordinator. I have established a schedule for each of these employees to report to the BoCC, and they appreciate having clear expectations. I have also been responsible for organizing the BoCC’s annual reviews for the employees we supervise as well as organizing interviews for new hires. I have taken on this role because I enjoy it and my fellow commissioners (from both parties) have trusted my experience, organization, and fair and consistent approach to hiring and supervising employees.
What are your views regarding the role of the media in covering your county? How can you best work with local reporters to ensure coverage of the issues?
Riegel: Local government really impacts people’s daily lives – whether it is a bridge repair project or a new boat ramp dedication. I consider our local paper a partner in the dissemination of information to the public. The Teton Valley News prints all of the county’s public notices and covers our BoCC meetings. This service is invaluable. Without local media, it would be much harder to inform the public of the business being conducted by the BoCC on their behalf.
Being a reporter is a 24/7 job and so is being a County Commissioner.
As the Board Chair, I have worked very closely with reporters this past several months to ensure that together we are seeking and sharing the information that our community deserves from local leaders, medical professionals, and public health officials regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. This has involved answering calls, e-mails, and texts at all hours of the day.
A goal in my next term is to really educate and inspire more people to get involved in local government. I believe we can be more inclusive in local government through board and commission appointments and providing more opportunities for citizens to get involved. Our local media outlets are the ticket to helping make that happen.
Barlow: A fair, yet vigilante, press is critical to the fundamental freedoms we enjoy. I am new to the world of politics, but I look forward to engaging with the media on the many pressing issues that face our great county. I believe that availability, transparency, truthfulness and trust should be the hallmarks of a healthy relationship with the media.
The post Democrat Cindy Riegel and Republican Taylor Barlow seek Teton County Commission seat appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com