- Wyoming PBS, Wyoming Public Media, and Cowboy State Daily present Vote 2026, a debate among candidates in the race for Wyoming Secretary of State, live from the auditorium at Riverton High School.

Greetings, viewers, audience members, and candidates on stage.

I'm Steve Peck, public affairs producer for Wyoming PBS.

We welcome you to tonight's general election debate among candidates for Wyoming Secretary of State.

That post is held currently by Chuck Gray, a Republican who did not seek reelection after one term in office in order to run for the US House of Representatives.

This is the first, the second of two debates tonight on Wyoming PBS candidates for Wyoming governor preceded us immediately.

The general election in Wyoming is Tuesday, November 3rd, as it is nationwide.

Early voting in Wyoming began October 5th and is ongoing.

You heard about our debate partners during the opening sequence of this debate.

Those who accepted our ballot invitations to debate tonight are on stage.

The order of speaking was determined by a random drawing backstage in which the candidates participated.

I note as well our thanks to Fremont County School District 25 in Riverton and its superintendent, Jodi Ibach, for hosting this debate tonight at Riverton High School.

This debate is being aired and streamed live by Wyoming PBS and Wyoming Public Media.

Our debate comprises four segments, including first, a preview question sent to the candidates in advance.

They'll have 90 seconds to respond.

Second, three questions in sequence to the full slate of candidates with each candidate answering the same three questions.

The candidates who answered the question the first time will answer third on the second question and we'll go in sequence.

Third, we'll have a short answer lightning round with each candidate responding to a brief prompt.

We expect to have time for at least 10 lightning round responses.

And this reminder to candidates, you have 15 seconds to respond.

It's not a one word, immediate word association test.

We have more time than you think.

Finally, we'll have a closing statement from each candidate.

In a joint briefing before the debate, we express to the candidates that we expect and require civil conduct and decorum during the debate.

I'm the moderator of tonight's debate.

I'll also be a questioning panelist as well.

Our remaining panel consists of two Wyoming journalists, both with extensive experience in Wyoming politics and government reporting.

Clair McFarland, reporter for Cowboy State Daily and Jordan Uplinger of Wyoming Public Media.

In this note, Wyoming PBS and Wyoming Public Media are partners and friendly ones in this debate tonight.

Otherwise, Wyoming PBS and Wyoming Public Media are separate unaffiliated organizations.

The timer for the debate tonight is Ryan Schuckman of Wyoming PBS.

He's operating a device similar to a traffic light.

When 10 seconds remain in the allotted speaking time for a candidate, a yellow light will be illuminated.

When the red light is illuminated, the candidate's time has expired and a signal will sound.

You'll have time to complete a sentence or a though, but when the red light is on, your time is up.

If I need to stop you, believe me, I will.

Now we meet the candidates participating in tonight's Secretary of State debate, introduced from left to right as you see them on stage.

Bryan McCarty, Democratic Party nominee.

Tamara Trujillo, Constitution Party nominee, and Robert Short, Republican Party nominee.

Now we begin the debates.

The candidates were emailed the same preview question yesterday.

Here's the question.

Appearing on the general election ballot 20 days from now is proposition one.

If approved by voters, the proposition effectively would reduce property taxes by 50% statewide.

Official estimates from the state put the amount of lost revenue at nearly $200 million during the first two years if the measure is approved.

Property tax revenue funds many services for local governments, meaning services including public schools, libraries, road maintenance, firefighting, emergency services, and others could be affected.

Thinking from both your perspective from the office you seek and as individual voters, do you support proposition one and why or why not?

Mr.

McCarty, you're first.

- Well, thank you for the question.

And first of all, I'd like to speak to the people of Wyoming who are eligible to vote to think about what local services that are important to you in your community that are funded through property taxes.

And if you're not aware, I'd like to make you aware of an organization known as communitiesovercutspack.org.

Their purpose for existence is to make sure that people like you know what services are paid for by your local governments and where those funds come from, what changes have taken place in that funding and what changes are proposed to that funding.

As for the proposition, the basic gist of it is it was legally placed on the ballot.

The Office of Secretary of State's role is to administer the laws that are on the books defining the role of that office.

Whatever legally gets onto the books is what we endorse and support.

End of story.

- Thank you.

Ms.

Trujillo, 90 seconds.

- Thank you for the question.

Proposition one is a people initiative action.

The people worked to get every signature on the piece of paper to get this proposition on the ballot.

It is worthy whether you are for it or against it to know that the people of Wyoming are the ones who pushed for this.

The people of Wyoming are the ones who put it on the ballot.

If you're a person for the people of Wyoming, if you're a true candidate for the people, you're going to back the people up.

Government will easily tell you that there's no money and we're going to have to cut fire departments and police department funding.

There's money.

There's a lot of money out there.

Our county commissioners would like you to think that there's not money in the county for them to do what they need to do, but all you have to do is pull a FOIA and find out that there is money.

They just need to learn how to spend it and maybe not spend the way they have been.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short, 90 seconds.

- Thank you for the question.

Thank you for Wyoming PBS for hosting.

Thank you for Riverton High School having us here.

As Secretary of State, the impact of a property tax cut really has no effect on the office.

As a county commissioner that I've been serving for 12 years now, I've seen a very different side of property tax.

We're very blessed in Wyoming.

We have mineral severance tax that pays the vast majority of the services that we enjoy here, whether it's roads, fire, law enforcement, solid waste districts, even our schools.

Approximately 70% of all taxes collected on the local level go to fund our schools.

The rest goes to fund special districts, think water districts, solid waste, hospitals, emergency services, fire, sheriff, police.

All of these are funded through property tax.

Should we cut that property tax in half, some counties will be affected much more than others.

For example, the county I live in where I'm a county commissioner in Converse, less than 4% of the revenue currently is from residential property tax.

So for us, it won't be nearly as impactful as it may be for Natrona County, where 21% of the revenue comes from residential property tax.

Personally, I have no children in school, but I'm willing to pay my share to make sure that our kids are educated because that was what our founders intended, education as the primary basis for their ability to succeed.

- Thank you.

We move now to a round of questions which each candidate will answer.

I'll ask the first one.

Mr.

Heal, you'll be the first to answer this question.

Widespread conversation is happening around the nation on the topic of huge computerized data centers, which among other things are enormous business propositions.

The Wyoming Secretary of State's Office regulates business in Wyoming.

Now some are being planned in Wyoming.

Do you feel Wyoming citizens are well informed enough about the requirements of land, water, electricity and business licensing and regulation that these huge installations demand?

- Do I think the Wyoming citizens are informed enough for this decisions?

No, I don't believe they are.

Our data centers that have been here and are continuing to come have been in the works from the governor's office and the Wyoming Business Council for over 17 years.

These guys have been funding through grant money through the counties getting ready for what's already happening.

If we were fully informed, we would have known about this 17 years ago when it started.

So I believe we need to do better in educating our community and our people, not in today's time because what's happening today happened 17 years ago and we would have to look at the politicians and the people that have been holding office for at least the past 20 years to current because they've already known and they're not telling you.

- Thank you, Mr.

Short.

60 seconds.

- I think the people of Wyoming are very able to understand nearly anything that's put in front of them.

There's been a lot of disinformation spread about data centers.

What is a data center?

What does it do economically?

What does it need for resource, water, electricity, land space?

We're a private property rights state.

If somebody wants to build something on their private property, it's very difficult to tell them no.

However, if they're going to do something that takes away your right to water or electricity, that's another conversation.

These data centers as proposed currently are talking about having closed loop systems, no different than the radiator in your car.

They also are talking about self-generation for electricity so that it cannot affect your rates.

As well, it will hopefully increase the robustness of our electric grid that continues to suffer as we retire more aged out power plants.

That said, remember this, if you use a cell phone, if you take digital data, in the next five years, we will double all of the data ever created in the history of the world.

It has to go somewhere.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty, data centers.

- Thank you.

Well, I'd like to start by giving Mr.

Short some credit for reminding me to thank Wyoming PBS for hosting this debate and your partners, and also going to flip the question back a little bit onto the person asking the question about how the Secretary of State's office actually participates in this topic or any other topic.

But to the point of data centers, one of the things that the Secretary of State's Office does do and does participate in and has an influential role, and I'm for sure based on its seat on the board of state land commissioners, is Wyoming's public lands, which include public waters, I'm pretty sure, and what they are used for and under what conditions and what remediation effects for adverse effects.

And so I intend to represent the best interest of the people of Wyoming in advocating.

And do I get to borrow some of Mr.

Short's time that he got?

- Finish your though, please.

- That is for the net benefit of the people of Wyoming, 80% of whom agree public lands belong in public hands and managed according to facts and science and things of that sort.

Thank you.

- Thank you, sir.

Our next question from Clair McFarland.

Mr.

Short, you'll be first.

- What do you think of the US Department of Justice agents that monitored the primary election in Laramie County, an operation which the governor described as aggressive?

- What do I think of them?

- What do you think of the monitoring operation?

I'm sorry.

What do - I think of the activity?

- Yes.

- Yeah.

So obviously the constitution spells it out very clearly.

Elections are in the hands of states.

They're not in the hands of the federal government.

The government sent monitors here to apparently view what the voting looked like in Laramie County.

There have been all kinds of reports about what happened or didn't happen at their hands, so to speak.

I don't believe that anything that would impede the citizen's right to vote in our elections should be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

We, the states, run elections.

County clerks run the elections with many of you perhaps volunteering to serve as election judges or election officials.

You take seriously that responsibility just as I have during my time as an election judge.

So for someone to insinuate something nefarious is happening, I think that's disingenuous and it's meant to divide us in a way that is really antithetical to who we are as Wyomingites.

Trust the system and verify.

- Thank you, Mr.

McCarty.

- So thanks again for that question, and I also want to take the opportunity to remind the audience and the people of Wyoming the responsibilities of the Office of Secretary of State.

I'm going to estimate it at 80% has to do with administering the elections of the state of Wyoming as prescribed by the laws of the state of Wyoming under the umbrella of the Constitution, et cetera.

So as Mr.

Short correctly said, those elections are the sole responsibility of the State of Wyoming and the Secretary of State's office and the district clerks and the volunteers, et cetera, that actually make it happen.

And I support all of those people entirely on behalf of the people of big, wonderful Wyoming, which is at, which it has always been to me, period.

- Thank you, sir.

Ms.

Trujillo.

- I believe that the State of Wyoming is capable of doing their elections.

I believe every county clerk is capable of doing their elections.

I don't see anything wrong with a little bit of oversight.

We invite every citizen in the state of Wyoming to come volunteer, be a judge.

We also invite citizens from the state of Wyoming when we're certifying the electric machines before election day to witness and be part of the process.

There's nothing wrong with being a witness to something as long as you're not overstepping and getting into the wrong lane.

The state of Wyoming is very capable and has the best people to do the job that needs to get done.

- Thank you.

Next question from Jordan.

- Your predecessor has worked closely with the federal government, including sharing voter registration data and running registrants through a national database to check for citizenship.

Do you plan to continue that precedent?

- Mr.

McCarty, you're first.

- I love Chuck Gray.

He is an unlimited fountain of material for my campaign, and this may be one of my favorites.

Do the job according to the law that defines the job.

Do not give Wyoming voter data to another government entity unless they have legitimate authority for requesting it, which was not the case in this situation.

Just don't.

There's plenty to do without getting into running interference for the Oval Office out of the state of Wyoming, in Colorado or anywhere else.

- Sir, Ms.

Trujillo, 60 seconds.

I - Don't really believe in helping the federal government more than it needs to be.

However, I believe that... I mean, he was taken to court and there was no charges brought against him, so I'm not exactly sure what law he broke or what he did wrong if the courts didn't find nothing to bring forth.

I believe that it might even be helpful because I was a victim of FOIA requests on my voting record because I was a military wife and I lived in multiple states and to prove something wrong, somebody went through multiple states to pull voting record on me.

So why not be consistent, work with the federal government, and then nobody would've had to go through all the work of seven states to just find out how I voted.

So if he didn't break the law, this is kind of a mute question.

- Thank you, Mr.

Short.

60 seconds, sir.

- I believe the Constitution clearly dictates that the states are in charge of elections.

Now you or I or any other person can select to request the voter rolls from any state at any time.

The difference being that the information contained in those voter rolls is redacted, no personally identifiable information that could tie you to your driver's license number or to your social security number.

In this case, those data were not redacted.

That's a problem for me because again, the constitution says elections are the responsibility of the state.

This is the first step towards an overreaching government trying to take control of local elections.

I'm adamantly opposed to that.

As far as running citizens' names through databases to ascertain whether or not they are citizens, only citizens should be voting in elections, period.

- Thank you.

The next question comes from me.

Mr.

Trujillo, you'll be first.

It's a practical question for the Secretary of State in the Secretary's role in administering Wyoming elections.

Virtually every county clerk in Wyoming would voice a similar concern.

I don't have enough election judges to administer the election as well as I would like to.

It's a crop, a group of aging volunteers typically, and their numbers are dwindling.

Finding new election judges is more difficult.

Any ideas on how to make finding election judges easier?

Mr.

Trujillo, 60 seconds.

- Finding election judges easier.

We can't even get people to vote.

I think with technology and the way it's moving and everybody depending on machines and AI these days, do we need election judges?

I mean, we just tried to have... The federal government just tried to come and help and oversight and nobody was down for that.

So honestly, there is... I don't even have any idea on how to... There's no... I don't have an idea on that.

Sorry.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short, election judges.

- Well, elections have been continually increasing in rhetoric and even violence expressed towards election workers, which is really, again, not our way.

We need to make sure that people are really informed and understand how elections are conducted in our state.

But furthermore, we need to engage with young people, high schoolers, so that they understand what the election process actually looks like.

On this campaign, I've spoken to so many young people in their 20s who have never voted.

They've never registered to vote because they don't know how to.

As Secretary of State, that's something I would take very seriously, to get out and visit with people and make sure that they understand that their voices matter and how to have their voices heard.

It's the same with election judges.

When young people understand what the role of an election worker and election judge does, maybe they become more interested and want to participate.

If they feel their voice is heard, they're more likely to be interested.

- Thank you, Mr.

McCarty.

- Can I kiss you?

- After the debate, sir.

- I love this question more than almost any other.

I want to speak to the people here that are potential voters, and I want to speak to all of the people of Wyoming that are watching this either live or on rebroadcast.

You all by yourself can stop this nonsense.

Think about what keeps you personally up at night or at the kitchen table that's affecting you personally in your own life and that the government has anything to do about at any level.

I'm pretty sure most of you can think of something.

And I think most of you are more concerned about that than you are about anything to do with me other than what I'm going to do about it in office.

And the thing of it is, that makes you the super majority all by itself unless you voted for the guy in the Oval Office.

You are going to want to vote if you can satisfy yourself that's true and do it.

And I have faith in the people of Big Wonderful Wyoming to do just that.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

The next question from Clair McFarland.

Mr.

Hill, you'll be first.

- What, if anything, would you like the legislature to change about our election laws?

- Say that again.

- What, if anything, would you like the legislature to change about our election laws?

- And that was directed to me first?

- Yes.

- I don't think there's really anything that needs to be changed.

I think the legislature has done a good job and our election laws are going pretty good.

- Short changes to election laws.

- I would like to see elections be more accessible.

Especially, I would like to see elections be more accessible, especially for mobility challenge folks, folks who live in assisted living facilities, for example.

The way our laws are written right now, it's very difficult for them to vote in mass because of a ballot harvesting perception.

As well, I'd like to see registration to vote be maybe a little more seamless and perhaps even involve technology so that people might be able to register to vote electronically versus having to find their way to the county clerk's office in order to vote.

For some folks, it may sound silly, but that's an all day affair.

If you work at a coal mine two hours away from the house in Douglas, Wyoming where many of my constituents work, it's very difficult to get into town to register to vote.

We need to make voting as easy as possible for all legitimate citizens in our beautiful state.

- Thank you.

Mr.

McCarty.

If - I could, I'm going to flashback for a moment to the previous question and talk about one of the candidates for governor who bragged about visiting 17 times or maybe even 18 times, or was it 19 times with small groups of people in places all over the state to talk about their concerns.

We get to talk to the whole state, and I believe in you.

So legislature and elections, our job in the Secretary of State's office is to administer the elections as they are prescribed in the laws that are on the books.

We can consult with the legislature or the governor when we are invited to in very specific terms when it comes to changes that have been made or changes that are proposed and what we think the implications are going to be on our ability to administer those regulations.

But we cannot advocate and do not advocate, and I will not advocate.

That's not how it works.

- Thank you.

Our next question from Jordan Uplinger.

Will - Be first.

- We're switching gears off elections for a moment here.

Wyoming residents have sometimes found their address being used by a business they have no connection to.

What's the Secretary of State's role in ensuring that doesn't happen?

- The Secretary of State is charged with administering business filings, both for registration and annual filings.

When fraudulent behaviors are taking place, the Secretary of State has the ability to investigate and refer for prosecution, either local law enforcement or perhaps national law enforcement such as the FBI in the case of wire fraud.

Insofar as someone's address being used fraudulently, currently there is no law that the Secretary of State can refer to for prosecution.

They can ask for that address to be changed, removed, and perhaps even administratively dissolve the business for fraudulent use of filing address, but it is very, very cumbersome in order to prove that.

So currently, the way the law stands, it's very difficult to have remedy through the Secretary of State's office for someone fraudulently using an address to register their business.

That's something I'd like to see the legislature tighten up a little bit.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty.

- If you want to get contacted by a business you know nothing about, run for office, get on the ballot.

I'm telling you, I spend half my time doing that.

Part of my background includes internal audit experience with a multi-billion dollar business enterprise.

I'm all about source documentation.

I'm all about internal auditing, all of that sort of things.

I have absolute faith in the professionals of the Office of Secretary of State to identify and get to the beneficial owner of any business doing business in the state of Wyoming, especially if it is adversely impacting customers or consumers or if we get complaints from consumers, we're obligated to investigate those and I intend to make sure that the people of Big Wonderful Wyoming are protected where they need to be protected and that businesses that have a legitimate right to a certain degree of opaqueness through LLCs receive what they are entitled to.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

Hugh.

- As Secretary of State, I would help improve our technology to help, I guess, remedy this situation and work with the legislature like Mr... - Oh gosh, - Like Mr.

Short said, and work with the legislator to help improve this process.

It's a lot of responsibility for one office.

Although we have an amazing staff in the Secretary of State's office, it can be cumbersome, but we have to look at the person, the citizen that it's affecting because it is their address at the end of the day and it is their property and it could affect them.

So educating our public on what to look for when they get maybe mail or packages sent to their homes.

- Thank you.

The next question is from me.

Mr.

McCarty, you'll go first.

Political candidates bring different life experiences and job experiences, et cetera, to office.

What makes you qualified for this office?

- Well, one of my favorite interactions with a supporter had to do with, "You're not qualified.

You've never been Secretary of State.

Have either of you ever been Secretary of State?

I'm pretty sure they don't qualify according to that perfect requirement.

So what do you do?

Do you sit it out?

Do you use your best judgment, vote for who seems like the best guy, gal?"

Think about the person that your government is about to murder because that's going on.

A citizen, it happens every day in this country.

That kind of activity, I'm not saying that kind of crime, but that kind of activity has taken place in Wyoming.

I don't think we want that.

So think about how you're going to explain your vote to that person with the gun at their head or their family and satisfy them you did the right thing by them at that moment.

Have at it.

- Ms.

Trujillo, your top qualifications for this office.

- My top qualifications for this office is I've been an administrator, auditor, and process writer for over 25 years in the private sector.

I've worked in the oil and gas industry in the state of Wyoming, so I know all about the taxes and the processes of the government and how it interacts.

I am a very good record keeper and auditor and process writer.

So that right there in itself puts me at the top spot for being a secretary of the state of Wyoming.

I'm not a career politician, so that might disqualify me as far as my qualifications, but I am a quick learner and hey, we got data centers, which means we have AI, which means I can learn twice as fast.

So that's what qualifies me to be your next Secretary of State.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short.

- The requirements for Secretary of State are age and residency.

Beyond that, my personal requirements to be qualified for this include running and operating multiple businesses, growing them from the ground up here in the great state of Wyoming, serving three terms as a county commissioner, understanding the governmental process, working with the legislature, understanding exactly what the process looks like in order to make policy, including working as an election judge, which I've done multiple times as well.

Run elections with my county clerk from start to finish and understand what the process looks like.

As well, working with groups, working on the State Board of Land Commissioners, State Loan Investment Board, the State Building Commission.

You have to be able to work with people and put together ideas and solutions that benefit the greatest number.

And rather than letting my ego guide me, it's the voice of the people.

- Thank you, sir.

Next question from Clara McFarland.

I may have been out of order previously.

Mr.

Hu, we're going to start with you on this one.

Get back in sequence.

- Our current Secretary of State has made headlines for fighting out of state court cases on behalf of President Donald Trump.

Would you wage such cases?

Why or why not?

Mr.

Hu?

- Yes, we'll start with you.

Get back in order now.

- Okay.

That's a really tough decision because at the end of the day, I believe that in order to have a successful federal government, you have to have states unite.

If states aren't united, our federal government is going to fail us 100%.

However, we have to pick our battles and I would take those when it's time to do those battles to the people of Wyoming.

And if they say that it's a go, then it's a go and we go for it.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short?

- I would not support spending Wyoming tax dollars in out-of-state court cases fighting for something that has nothing to do with our ability as a state.

Furthermore, stepping outside the lane of the Secretary of State's office is something that I would not embark upon.

I think it's imperative that the Secretary of State stay focused on the great state of Wyoming and what we do in Wyoming to help benefit the people of Wyoming.

We by extension are helping our country, but to spend tax dollars fighting court cases in which we have no standing is simply a waste of money and it's really disingenuous.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty.

- Well, I want to especially address the people who elected Chuck Gray.

How do you personally feel about your tax dollars that pay his salary as Secretary of State so that he can use them to carry water for... Well, I kind of hate to go into campus radical mode, but a puppet of our most capable and consistent adversary on a global scale.

Are you okay with that?

Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be okay with that.

So just mull that one over and get back to us on election day.

There has been some discussion up here today about using AI to help with this, that, and the other having to do with elections in Wyoming.

Is that the same eye that does your auto correct and your driving instructions?

Because I'm pretty sure I don't want that AI having anything to do with elections in this state.

- Thank you, sir.

Jordan Uplinger has the next question.

Mr.

Short, we'll start with you.

- Do you think the office has enough staff to handle business... Do you think the office has enough staff to handle business regulations and oversight?

- That's a great question.

Michael, business registrations.

My apologies.

Business registrations.

- Yes.

- It's a great question.

Not having the opportunity to actually work inside the office, it's difficult to say yes or no, but we know that technology has not been employed to the fullest degree possible to help with those folks doing business filings.

We know that this year alone, more than $70 million will flow into the state as a result of business filings and business registrations in the state of Wyoming.

To put that into perspective, it's approximately 4,000 per day.

That's a lot for a few people to handle.

However, with technology, we're hopeful that we improve our ability, we improve our efficiencies.

But until I'm actually working in the office with people and understanding what their workload looks like, it's difficult to say yes or no.

I know that it's important to the people of Wyoming that the office performs efficiently and effectively, and that has to be a balance between what it costs, what the services are that people want, and the number of people it takes to fulfill them.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty, staffing at the Secretary of State's office.

- I don't know.

But the good news is I've been on a crash course since I've been running for this office on what the office does and doesn't do and how it does it, et cetera.

And I expect to be on a crash course, hopefully kind of with the government when I am elected and am onboarded officially, informally and all that good sort of thing.

So I intend to find out and if we don't figure out what can be done about it, then that's another opportunity to engage legitimately with the legislature and possibly even the governor on, "Hey man, we've got a problem and need a little help here."

But I have also experience with literally the biggest business in business in this country, known for integrity, known for regulatory compliance and get the job done, do it legally, do it ethically, otherwise I don't want to hear about it.

And I have gotten promotions after promotion by doing that.

You don't fail your way into different jobs in those businesses.

So I'm pretty sure I can do this.

Thank you, sir.

- Ms.

Trujillo?

Can you repeat that question?

- Jordan.

Do you think the office has enough staff to handle business registrations and oversight?

- I don't think a government office as big as the Secretary of State with the business that they do probably has enough staff to do that.

If I recall for the past few years, the current Secretary of State has been asking the legislature for money for IT equipment and staff to do a better job and has gotten pushback most of the time on that.

So I'm hoping when I become Secretary of State to work with the legislature to work on making sure that we are fully staffed to the best of our ability to serve the state of Wyoming in all its business registrating.

- Thank you.

I have the next question.

And Mr.

McCarty, you'll go first.

The current Secretary of State has enjoyed playing a role, it seems, as almost a pseudo legislator, proposing legislation informally, advocating for legislation, frequently testifying, expressing opinions about legislative debate and legislative votes.

Is that something that, number one, do you think the Secretary of State ought to do?

And would you be interested in doing that yourself?

Were you elected?

- Well, I had the privilege of attending a supporter type meet and greet in Thurmop with the incumbent using his state provided vehicle for some reason as a asset for his congressional campaign.

But it was fascinating hearing what came out of his mouth in front of basically his supporters, except for me, and I was just there as Citizen Bryan.

He recognized me as a Secretary of State candidate and he was introducing himself to everybody as they came in as like, "You're running for Secretary of State, aren't you?"

Yep, that's me.

Otherwise, it was civil and I can see why people respond positively to him.

He sounds good, he sounds authentic and all that sort of stuff, but it's just a torrent of lies and falsehoods.

And so I would have nothing to do with that kind of activity as the Secretary of State for the people of Big Wonderful Wyoming, not a chance.

- Thank you, sir.

Ms.

Trujillo.

- I need you to ask me that question though one more time, please.

I need to hear it.

- Yes.

The current Secretary of State has often played a role almost like a pseudo legislator, and he served as a legislator in the past, often proposing legislation informally, expressing opinion about legislative votes, testifying often.

Is that something that the Secretary of State ought to be doing and/or would you be interested in doing it yourself were you elected?

- Well, the question I guess would be what was he testifying for?

What was he legislating for?

What was he going to the committees and talking about?

Was he talking to improve the office of Secretary of State?

Was he talking to improve the Office of Governor?

Specific to the question would help to better answer the question.

Now, would I go to a committee and testify for a new law?

Well, I don't know.

Will it make my job easier?

Will it make the voters of Wyoming feel safer in voter election?

That's the question to ask.

Asking if I would just go up to committee and start legislating for myself.

Well, that's not the role of Secretary of State, but I can guarantee you, if it's going to make my job easier and if it's going to make the citizens of Wyoming feel safer in everything that my office does, then yes, I will go to the legislature.

I will testify in committee.

I'm going to be the people's voice.

- Thank you, Mr.

Short.

- The short answer, no pun intended, not often.

Only in the case that it actually has a germane impact on the office and the role of the office.

Beyond that, my job's to make the office boring again.

- Thank you.

We'll now move to our lightning round.

The panelists in order will prompt the candidates with brief one, two, or a few word prompts.

You'll have 15 seconds to respond to the same one in order.

Is that right how we do it?

Same one?

No.

Each of you will get an individual one.

Sorry about that.

I'll do the first one, and Ms.

Trujillo, you'll start.

Your leadership style.

- I'm a listener, I'm a doer, and I'm a fighter.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short?

- Lead with strength, humility, responsibility, encouragement.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty?

- Gather the data, diagnose the problem, brainstorm solutions, implement them, make sure they're working, do the job, and get it done right.

- Candidates, thank you.

Next prompt is from Clair McFarland.

- Your approach to the State Board of Land Commissioners and State Loan and Investment Board.

- Mr.

Short?

- The Constitution makes clear the role.

Follow the Constitution, follow any statutes that are put in place to direct our decision-making process.

Listen, learn, make decisions that are in the best interest of the recipients as dictated by the Constitution.

- Mr.

McCarty.

I take this personally.

I'm an outdoor photographer.

Public land access is critical to me enjoying Big Wonderful Wyoming, Big Wonderful Wyoming personally.

Being on the Board of Public Land Commissioners means we decide how a lot of this stuff gets done.

Do it legally, do it according to facts, and do it for the people of Wyoming.

- Mr.

Hu?

- Follow the law, pay attention to what the people are saying, and use common sense.

- Thank you.

The next prompt is from Jordan.

Mr.

McCarty, you'll be first.

- Do you support secure ballot drop boxes?

- That's a good question.

I am almost positive the laws allow for that in this state, therefore I support it because that's the law.

I have no reason to think there's any widespread abuse of that method, and so I am perfectly okay with it until proven otherwise by reality.

- Ms.

Trujillo?

- I'm not a supporter of ballot drop boxes.

I'm not a ballot harvester supporter.

- Mr.

Schwartz.

- Secure ballot drop boxes are imperative for people of Wyoming who work in remote locations and do not have the ability to vote.

Some of our ranchers live 70 miles away from town.

They don't get to choose when they go into town because they're busy running their ranch.

If they can drop a ballot in a secure box, I'm all for it.

- Thank you.

The next prompt is from me and Ms.

Trujillo.

You'll be first.

Wyoming has far fewer polling places than it used to.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

- I think it's a bad thing, but the good thing about that is we have absentee voting and early voting.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short.

- Given the difficulty in rounding up election judges to serve, it's not a great thing, but it's probably the only thing we can do.

- Mr.

McCarty.

Could you repeat it, please?

Wyoming has far fewer polling places than it used to.

Is that a good - Polling - Places as opposed to... Okay.

I can't, I can't envision a scenario in which that's a good thing.

- Thank you.

Next prompt is from Clara McFarland.

Mr.

Short, you'll be first.

- Who is your political hero?

- Wow.

Great question.

Thomas Jefferson.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

McCarty.

- Neil Goldschmidt as governor of Oregon.

He was my governor when he was in office.

He was everything you could possibly want in a governor, and I just think the world of him as a politician.

He brought credit to the profession of politician.

- Mr.

Trujillo?

- My favorite politician, I don't have one.

- Fair enough.

Our next prompt is from Jordan, and Mr.

McCarty, you'll go first.

- Do you support or reject the use of artificial intelligence in the office of the Secretary of State?

- It's okay to the extent that your driving instructions are okay using AI and you're auto-correct and auto fill and things like that.

Just watch what it's doing.

I've done websites without it.

I've done websites with it.

It's a nightmare.

It creates more problems than it solves, but it has its uses.

Do it intelligently and knowledgeably.

- Mr.

Hijo.

- It's the way of the future, as long as we're responsible and we have qualified and good employees that know how to administer it.

- Thank you, Mr.

Short.

- Artificial intelligence is a tool.

We never let it make decisions.

We use it to make outcomes that we're hoping to achieve that benefit the people we serve.

It's a tool.

Don't allow it to make decisions.

- Thank you.

The next prompt is from me and Mr.

Hill, you'll be first.

Any issues before the big five boards and commissions upon which you would serve that stand out foremost in your mind?

- The biggest issue for me right now is who will be elected to sit on those five board, on those five seats.

I need to be one of those people that you elect to be there to avoid the problems that we're going to have if I'm not.

- Thank you.

Mr.

Short.

- I think the biggest, the biggest problem I see is a lack of understanding about what the role is for people sitting on the State Board of Land Commissioners.

It's not public land, it's state land, and it's defined constitutionally in the role that it must be administered and utilized.

Helping people understand that role I think is really critical.

- Mr.

McCarty.

- I'll take the correction to state lands.

Wyoming's culture, economy, and politics are defined by state lands, public lands.

We're going to use them as best we can to benefit the people of Wyoming net for sure, and that is that.

- I have time for one or two more.

The next is from Clair McFarland.

Mr.

Short, you'll be first.

- Do you see the Secretary of State's office as a stepping stone to a higher office?

- I'm sorry, would you please repeat that, Clair?

- Do you see the Secretary of State's office as a stepping stone to a higher office?

No, I do not.

- Mr.

McCarty?

Well, can I just say I'm 66 and leave it at that?

Otherwise, no.

Thank you.

- Ms.

Trujillo?

- No, I don't.

- All right.

The next prompt is from Jordan Uplinger, and Mr.

McCarty, you'll go first on this one.

- Do you support voters being able to change their political party at any time?

- Yes.

I think there is lots of examples of that having happened for a lot of people for a long time, so where it's legal under the governing regulations, sure.

- Ms.

Trujillo.

- It's legal, and what is legal is what is good for the people.

They just need better choices in Wyoming.

- Mr.

Short?

- I grew up in Wyoming.

When I was a kid, I could vote for whomever I wanted to vote for.

I could change my affiliation on the day of election.

I think the people of Wyoming deserve to vote for whomever they want to vote for and not be forced to choose a party whom they don't even know will be on the ballot.

- Candidates, thank you.

We've moved now to our time for closing statements.

We'll go in the reverse order that we open, meaning Mr.

Short will be first, Mr.

Heo second, Mr.

McCarty third.

Mr.

Short, proceed.

- Thank you again for having us here.

I'm Robert Short.

I'm the only short guy on the ballot.

I grew up in Wyoming.

I love this place.

I've grown businesses here.

I've served my entire life, whether as an altar boy at church or as a county commissioner or working on the board for sexual assault and domestic violence, helping people who've been victims.

It's important to me to help my great state because I love this place.

As a county commissioner, I've worked very diligently to put together coalitions with people to help them understand that we can work together.

That was the fastest 90 seconds I've ever heard.

- Thank you, sir.

Mr.

True.

Me?

- Me?

You.

Oh, sorry about that.

I'm Tamara Trujillo, and I'm going to ask you to vote for me.

I've been a citizen of Wyoming since I was two years old.

I started my volunteer work at the age of 13 as a candy striper for DePaul Hospital in Cheyenne.

I've done so much volunteer work in Wyoming.

My dad said I'd be a millionaire if I got paid.

I am perfect for this position because I have been an administrator my whole entire life, and I love the people of Wyoming and I want to make a good future for my grandchildren.

- Thank you.

Mr.

McCarty.

- My avatar for the rugged Wyoming individualist is Leo Tass, who ran the Klondike Dude Ranch over outside of Buffalo when I went there for the first time in 1969 and who was largely responsible for what I think of as a Wyoming rugged individualist.

He would strangle Frank Chapman and his Hollywood, Nashville, Washington campaign claiming to speak on his behalf when he did anything but that, and I trust the people of Wyoming to be just as wise as Leo Tass.

- Candidates, we thank you for your participation tonight.

That thanks as well to our panelists.

Remember, we have two more debates tomorrow night for US House of Representatives and Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Thanks to our audience for watching.

You're watching Wyoming PBS.