Governor to review clerk complaint
Gov. Mark Gordon has acknowledged receipt of a citizens’ complaint regarding Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock and issues with the 2024 General Election and is investigating the matter, according to a Dec. 27 press release.
As previously reported by the News Letter Journal, Hadlock used three different ballots for the House District 1 race, and the result was that most of the votes for Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, were not counted.
According to Hadlock’s initial reports, Neiman received 166 votes in his uncontested race, with 1,289 undervotes counted. After a recount, it was reported that Neiman received 1,268 votes, with 166 undervotes.
The recount also included the Weston County commissioners race. While the change was not as significant as it was in the HD1 race, commissioner Ed Wagoner’s total increased by 62 votes, from 2,361 to 2,424 and Marty Ertman’s tally dropped by 62 votes from 2,225 to 2,163.
After a review was requested by Secretary of State Chuck Gray, the results were corrected before they were certified, but Gray announced that his office would further investigate the clerk’s actions.
Because of the issues, and what they called a lack of confidence in Hadlock as clerk, the Weston County Republican Party Central Committee also voted unanimously to have several residents draft a letter to the governor asking for Hadlock’s removal, citing Wyoming Statute 18-3-902.
Under that law, either qualified electors or the Board of Weston County Commissioners can request the governor to consider the removal of an elected official.
“Whenever it appears to the governor on the verified complaint of qualified electors or the board of county commissioners of the county that the county officer is guilty of misconduct or malfeasance in office he may direct the attorney general to commence and prosecute an action in district court of the county in which the officer is an official asking for the removal of the officer,” the statute states.
On Dec. 27, Gordon announced that on December 19 he had received a “verified complaint from eight qualified electors of Weston County alleging acts of misconduct or malfeasance by the Weston County Clerk and requesting her removal from office.”
The qualified electors who signed the letter are Kenneth Hoffman, James Burrough, Dan Fouch, Tricia Bowmann, Dean Rightnowar, Joely Rightnowar, Kari Drost and Stan Jazinski.
“Following the mandated process set out in the Wyoming statutes, the Governor’s Office will examine the verified complaint and conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether the allegations justify pursuing the requested statutory removal process. At the end of this investigation, the Governor will make a determination on the request, which will be forwarded to the complainants and the Weston County Clerk,” the release says. “Given the very serious nature of the potential consequences involved, removal of an official duly elected by the voters of Weston County, preserving the objectivity and integrity of this process is crucial. Consequently, the Governor will have no comment on this investigation while it is ongoing, focusing instead on reviewing and determining relevant facts.”
According to an email from Kit Wendtland, special counsel for the governor’s office, to Kari Drost, Weston County Republican Party chairwoman, notices will be sent to parties who may have information relevant to the complaint. These notices, the email states, will “detail opportunities for voluntary interviews, describing the scope of the Governor’s Office’s investigation as well as details regarding procedures and logistics.”
“At this time, the scope of this investigation will be limited to the elements of the allegations described in the verified complaint, consistent with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 18-3-902 and associated case law. While the date might change due to the busy schedule created by the start of the legislative session, we are tentatively looking at the week of January 16, 2025 to conduct interviews in Weston County,” the email states.
“We are grateful that Governor Gordon has acknowledged our plea and look forward to his office's full investigation,” Drost said.
On Dec. 27, Gray acknowledged the governor’s announcement in a press release.
“I appreciate the Governor’s update. We’ve been conducting our own thorough investigation according to the processes laid out in Title 22, and will be releasing our results early in 2025. We take the issues surrounding the conduct of the Weston County Clerk very seriously,” he said in the release.