Short makes the rounds

Kim Dean
NLJ Managing Editor
 
Robert Short and his wife, Janella, stopped by the News Letter Journal office on June 26 to visit about his run for the U.S. Senate. 
Short is a fiscal conservative Republican who resides south of Douglas. He grew up in a working class family, and his first job was working as a ranch hand and later as a roustabout in the summers.
Short graduated from Glenrock High School then went to work in the uranium industry. When the 1980s bust happened, he left in 1984 to attend Denver Institute of Technology, earning a degree in computer science and electrical engineering. Furthering his education brought many innovative work opportunities in Colorado. He worked at a hard disk drive manufacturing company in Longmont and a nuclear magnetic resonance company, which required him to travel extensively. He also lived in Japan for two years and speaks Japanese and French. 
When his father’s health declined he came back to Wyoming to help his brother run a power line business, eventually buying into the company which he still owns today. In the past 15 years, Short has expanded into eight other businesses, employing 153 people, and creating apprenticeship programs that are certified by the Department of Labor. The Short’s four grown children are all employed in the family businesses.
Short and his wife are committed to volunteering their time in the community, he told NLJ. He serves as chairman of the board of the Converse Hope Center and chairman of the Wyoming County Commissioner Association Committee on Energy and Environment. He’s a two-term Converse County commissioner and is fully invested in helping his community diversify, he said.
Short said he believes his problem-solving ability, listening skills and experience creating businesses with diversification will aid him if elected to represent the people of Wyoming.
While acknowledging that filling long-time Senator Mike Enzi’s shoes could prove to be a big task, he jokingly replied, “I have size 12 feet.”
Short was well versed in the struggles that lie ahead of Wyoming and the nation, and said his priorities include focusing on civility on a fundamental basis and working across party lines to achieve what is best for the people. The national debt and food insecurity were top concerns he listed as well, citing we must accelerate energy independence and recapture manufacturing prowess.
“Civility is something we must bring back to the national dialogue,” he said.
To find out more about Short, visit his website at shortfor307.com.