CHEYENNE, Wyo. — In this edition of “Meet the Candidates,” Richard Johnson shares with Cap City News how he envisions governing Cheyenne if elected as a city councilmember. Johnson is one of three people running for Ward III.
The following are responses that Johnson shared with Cap City News. To view the Q&As of other candidates who have also submitted answers to us, click here.
What are the top three issues you believe the City Council needs to address immediately, and how do you plan to tackle them?
1. The bus stop at COMEA Shelter. This is the answer I received. We are unable to access the south side of the street in front of COMEA without making a left-hand turn onto the state highway at an uncontrolled intersection. So, if this is the logic being used, it’s bad if the bus gets hit, which can be repaired and replaced, a human life has no value. I find this unacceptable. I met with an amputee in a wheelchair at the location and asked her about the change in the route. I’m sure you can imagine her answers. A few days after that, I received a text that a 14-year kid was almost hit at this crossing. This is one of the most used stops on the city’s route and it’s a disaster waiting to happen. My suggestion is to do a left-hand turn.
2. A rental registry / tenant bill of rights. Thank heavens I receive everything as PDFs or I’d run out of cabinet space for all the studies on housing and rentals I receive. I propose using the city’s opengov software to catalog rental properties. Similar to what the city just passed on five neighbors signing a petition for traffic studies, the software would log complaints from tenants on safe living conditions in rental units. These would have to be remediated before the next tenant moved in. I’m not talking cosmetics. All residents should have running water, a door that shuts and locks, a roof that doesn’t leak, and heating and cooling. The basic necessities for habitation. Therefore, I wouldn’t need another study, because our rentals would be laid out on availability, turnover, the Airbnb market, etc. Once again, this is a topic that is uncomfortable for discussion, so it’s time to bring it forward and figure it out.
I believe there are scum lords and scum tenants, so a Tenant Bill of Rights would be essential for both parties. Our housing waiting list is so backlogged, most people are so excited to finally get a home that they don’t think about all the things that can go wrong once they’ve sign the dotted line. Of course, this should happen at the state level, but I’m all about setting a precedent.
3. Amenities. I would like to see the skatepark planned for Kiwanis Community Park continue to move forward (pump track) and another skatepark to be built by West Winds and South Fork. Even though I will receive tons of feedback, I have asked staff to scout out city properties where we could potentially build a quarter-mile race track. Everyone complains about young people and their excessive speeding, I would like to give them a place to test their cars potential, safely. My idea has rental times for users, creating a technician position to make sure the car is race worthy, event coordinators to host racing events. I have always found it is best to adapt a solution than complain about everything. You asked about listening to the unheard residents of the community, I feel the racing community is unheard. Tourism is Wyoming’s second highest revenue generator and with so many tracks closing down, I believe this market is untapped.
How do you propose to manage the city’s budget effectively while ensuring essential services are maintained and improved?
Police and Fire are two of the largest budget categories in the annual budget. Yes, we will have to find funding to keep the nine firefighters that were brought online through the SAFER grant. Before every budget session I ask the Chief of Police if the concerns of the Police Association have been answered before we begin budget talks. I ask this publicly at our work sessions so the front-line officers know they can come to me and we can discuss options. I believe that all the city staff are essential though. I receive concerns when roadways and sidewalks aren’t cleared, streets need repaired, water pressure is low, seagulls are disturbing a neighborhood, people are dumping trash in empty lots, businesses need assistance through the planning, permitting, and building process, sprinklers need fixed in a park, someone’s trash wasn’t picked up, my neighbor is complaining about my dog barking, weeds need pulled in a traffic island, a tree fell into the road, a playground slide was shot with a shotgun, an intersection needs a stop sign, etc. Without staff members to assist in remedying these issues when I receive concerns, I wouldn’t be a successful council person. Therefore, all city staff are very essential to me. With economic indicators pointing to a recession, we are continuing to build up our reserves to retain staff during difficult financial times.
What are your plans for promoting affordable housing and addressing homelessness in Cheyenne?
1. I have been involved with the Affordable Housing Task Force for about 15 months. We discuss Unified Development Code changes, which we passed several in late 2023, the aforementioned rental registry / tenant bill of rights, density, infill projects, and NIMBYism. I brought forth an ordinance change that offers multi-home developers a reimbursement on permit fees when they receive a certificate of occupancy. I continue to explore a Housing Choice Voucher through HUD that can assist with closing costs and mortgage assistance for qualifying homeowners. We are currently looking at tap fee costs for new development for FY 2026. By all means, if you have any ideas that we haven’t tried that you have heard were successful in other municipalities, please contact me. I will buy you coffee, bring members of the task force with me, and we can explore your idea. This isn’t just a Cheyenne issue.
2. After receiving this questionnaire, another council and myself met with the director of COMEA for a 90-minute discussion on the current state of homelessness. She advised that most residents now are truly transient in nature and not Cheyenne residents that needed a hand up due to unforeseen circumstances. We spoke with residents of the new STAGES program and they told us it was a Godsend. Knowing that the City/County teamed up with ARPA funds to make this purchase to assist individuals that may have a substance abuse problem, and the other alternative could be death. The purchase of the Stagecoach Motel was one of my proudest affirmative votes on effective use of funds. I don’t believe incarceration is the answer to homelessness and the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision put an end to the camping discussion. I still find it discouraging that campers at Frontier Park and during 36-hour softball tournaments are allowed to overnight in our parks and leave trash everywhere, yet we fine people with no money and no home. Until our state decides that mental health and substance abuse is a problem in Wyoming and more funding and resources become available, I don’t see this problem going away. Homelessness has been around since the beginning of time, but I think they were called Bedouins. Remember when a chart topper on the radio was “King of the Road” and now homelessness is looked at as a zit on society’s ass.
How will you ensure that the voices of all community members, including underrepresented groups, are heard and considered in City Council decisions?
Each ward represents about 22,000 people so it extremely difficult to hear all voices. I am definitely amused by the spam letters that are emailed to me that begin, “As your boss”. Most people don’t like the answer when I reply, the person who has a different stance on the topic is also my boss and they are advising me to vote different than you. I’m not intimidated by bringing topics forward that generate around the water cooler and need to be addressed as a city. To some, when the item fails in City Council, people come up and tell me, your debate made me change my lifestyle. Its also impressive when controversial topics come up that the emails and conversations are about 50/50. People are shocked when I am willing to compromise when they catch an error in proposed language. I have made many new friends with people who disagree with me, but I am not ashamed to ask for help. I guess my humanity throws them off when I say, “I am human, I do make mistakes, but instead of arguing until we are blue in the face, we sit down and figure this out together.” I identify as an independent thinker and not a DC think tank. I piece together what is logical to me, discuss with my co-councilors an idea I have, vet it through them, work with staff to see how this will impact their workload, and after months of deliberation, we present the idea to council. Emphasis on “We” because I don’t try to tackle the world alone anymore.
What initiatives would you support to enhance environmental sustainability and green spaces within the city?
I would support having solar panels on the roofs of city buildings. Infill housing opportunities offer environmental opportunities compared to larger new subdivisions. I drafted a resolution that passed Wyoming Association of Municipalities muster to introduce a low-water landscaping component that restricts the action in local covenants. I went to BOPU’s water wise conference to listen to the Colorado River Compact discussion. I continue to work with city departments on water reuse and low-water landscaping in traffic islands. I have always been an advocate for the Greenway. I love riding my bicycle but the humidity and barometric pressure this year has affected my asthma so my carbon footprint has increased this summer. It’s nice to have places like the Civic Center Commons that decrease our Urban Heat Index. I would like to see the city start a low-water landscaping award for participants who improved their yards to reduce water. I support front yard gardens as long as the corn and sunflowers don’t block a stop sign or impede vision at intersections. I support Habitat Hero Gardens and love the direction that the High Plains Arboretum is taking.
Is there anything else you’d like voters to know about you?
I am Richard Johnson and am running for my third term on city council. I love working with my co-councilors and the new work ethic that has taken over the council and administration. In 2021 when we were sworn in, I asked that we make a pinky promise to each other that we were not going to work to get reelected but work for the people we represent. Over the last three and a half years we have finished several projects and have movement on so many more. When the mayor came to us with an issue in early 2021, I told the group, I have an idea, “For everything that has been kicked down the road for 30 years, we open it up and either pass it or kill it. If the voters believe we did our jobs, they will support us in the next election. Remember, every four years is a job evaluation.” The mayor replied, ”I’m in.” This is the first time on council I have seen up to 65 items on an agenda. We are all constantly busy. The level of professionalism on the dais is mind blowing. We disagree on topics but don’t insult each other. We discuss, amend, postpone, and discuss some more until we are comfortable with the decision we are making. Our civility has made us very effective. The fact that we have annual goal setting sessions to prioritize the objectives. We have all taken on more of an advocacy role at the state and federal level when we hit roadblocks in the direction we would like our city to be in fifty years. I would appreciate your vote in August and November.
