Gordon celebrates Trump win, talks economy and property taxes
JACKSON — Gov. Mark Gordon celebrated former President Donald Trump securing the presidency and what it could mean for the governor’s Wyoming agenda in a press conference Wednesday morning.
He had personally congratulated Trump, he said, adding that it was nice to see Wyoming’s lead followed by the rest of the country. Trump won 72.3% of the Cowboy State’s vote, according to unofficial election results.
Teton County, however, went against the grain with 65.86% of voters casting ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gordon also mentioned the “tremendous amount of stimulus” the Biden administration rolled out during the pandemic as contributing to inflation. Although he acknowledged that Wyoming benefited from the packages for improvements to infrastructure, he said they drove up the cost of living.
“We had supply chain issues,” he said. “We had labor issues, all of these things drove prices pretty substantially. And the Trump administration has the chance to be able to stabilize the economy.”
But Trump’s plans aren’t fully fleshed out, Gordon said.
“His particular economic programs at this point are a bit unclear and so it’ll be interesting to see,” Gordon said. “For example, in his efforts on tariffs, what that is going to mean.”
During Trump’s last presidency, Wyoming officials had hoped that he would place tariffs on uranium so that domestic production would increase, Gordon said. Wyoming is one of the largest producers of uranium.
“Tariffs overapplied can lead to inflation, I won’t argue that,” Gordon said. “But tariffs properly applied can rebuild the economy that we have.”
Gordon said that Trump’s approach on energy will bring costs down. Hopefully, Wyoming will recover some of the momentum it lost during the Biden administration, he said, and get “relief on energy pricing,” a big driver of inflation.
Another win Gordon celebrated that could help Wyoming residents’ wallets was the passage of the constitutional amendment creating a fourth class of property. Close to 54% of voters approved the measure. Supporters said it will give the Legislature another tool to address rising property taxes and reduce taxes on owner-occupied homes.
The governor said the change to the Wyoming Constitution will make all the difference, and that he hadn’t been sure voters would pass it.
Carrie Haderlie, a Wyoming freelance journalist, asked if the governor would encourage lawmakers to put a backstop in for the lost revenue for schools or local governments if they decided to reduce the percentage of property tax applied to homeowners versus commercial properties. Hundreds of millions of dollars go out into communities across the state, and none goes into the state’s general fund.
While it’s important that the Legislature lower those taxes, Gordon said, “we’re going to have to figure out ways to be able to make up the difference.”
“Some of that is going to come from limiting services to a degree, there’s obviously efficiency that we have to work on,” he added.
Gordon said he plans to urge the Legislature to look carefully at reducing residential property tax rates.
“I want our tax system to be well-balanced and appropriate for people across the board,” he said.
Voters leaving the polls Tuesday in Teton County talked about the economy and inflation.
The economy was Trenna Beardall’s top priority as a voter this election cycle. The Teton County resident has a family of four.
“It’s definitely a lot harder to live in Jackson than it ever has been and in the whole country,” said Beardall, 33, when leaving the polls.
Teton County continues to be the most expensive place to live in the state. The cost of living was estimated to be 76% higher than the statewide average in the second quarter of 2024, according to a report released last week by the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division. Inflation in Wyoming also was 3.9% higher than this time last year.
This story was published on November 7, 2024.