CHEYENNE, Wyo. — In this edition of “Meet the Candidates,” Tamara Trujillo shares with Cap City News how she envisions governing Wyoming if elected to the state Legislature. Trujillo is one of three people running for House District 44.
The following are responses that Trujillo shared with Cap City News. To view the Q&As of other candidates who have also submitted answers to us, click here.
What are your top three legislative priorities for Laramie County, and how do you plan to advocate for them in the Wyoming House of Representatives?
The water and sewer issue for HD44 has been a longtime issue and now with water having to pass through the southside of Cheyenne we need to focus on the residents and their homes. I plan to work with local governments and offices to see where the bottle necks are and clear the way. Safety and security is another big issue, we have a lot of couch surfing kids, we need to figure out where the parents are, review and improve state statutes to hold parents accountable for their minor child’s actions. Continue support to our sheriff’s department and local nonprofits that help kids keep busy. Many issues that happen in Laramie County are local issues; county and city. It’s all in managing a budget.
How do you plan to support and improve the education system in Wyoming, particularly in terms of funding and workforce development?
I plan to continue listening to what the teachers have to say, and work with our districts to ensure our buildings are a proper learning environment for our children and a safe environment for our teachers. We need adequate air conditioning and heat, adequate classrooms and curriculums. And to succeed we must remove the red tape, regulations and local requirements that hinder the education and make it more costly. We should promote from within more often and train up our own workforce with programs out of LCCC and in conjunction with DFS and WFS work programs.
What measures will you support to improve healthcare access and affordability for residents of Laramie County?
Working on educating a new healthcare workforce and supporting programs that encourage our healthcare workers to stay in Laramie County, reducing regulations to allow more nursing facilities for our growing elderly age group and we can also our aging residents receive home healthcare for those who can stay in the comfort of their own home. And at the same time create a workforce with benefits which helps everyone all around.
What strategies do you propose for diversifying Wyoming’s economy and reducing dependence on traditional industries such as mining and energy?
Continued support for our new and innovated future with our wind, looking into new and improved ways to streamline our support to other states without passing the burden of their regulatory cost to Wyomingites. Wyoming is rich in minerals and we need to ensure we secure our energy independence as a state and country by continuing to support all our energy as a whole.
How do you plan to stay connected with your constituents and ensure their voices are heard in the legislative process?
I will continue to have an open-door policy, post live townhalls, attend local PTOs, Parent Advisory Committee meetings, nonprofit organization meetings, club meetings.
Is there anything else you’d like voters to know about you?
I’m thankful to everyone who has entrusted thus far to represent them. I have always looked out for the best interest of House District 44 as a whole and will continue to do so. Working on the budget is most important that’s how we ensure the state works for the people. We must be studious when it comes to how government spends your tax dollar. We don’t want to just throw it to the Wyoming wind when we can give it back to the people. So in closing I like to say, “We are a people’s government, let me know what you think we need or don’t need and let’s start there.”
