Candidate announces senate run

A Green River resident recently announced her intent to run for Senate District 14 in the Wyoming Legislature.

Michele Irwin, a democrat, lives on a bison and cattle ranch south of Green River, announced her intent in an email sent to the Green River Star.

“I am running for a seat in the Wyoming Senate to represent the diverse citizens within the district, and because I believe that we need to focus on solutions. Thinking outside the box and finding common ground with others are two skills I bring to the table; skills our state needs right now,” Irwin wrote in her email.

The senate district is comprised of portions of Sweetwater, Sublette, Lincoln and Uinta counties.

Irwin said she considered making a second run for House District 18, a race she was defeated in by Fred Baldwin, R-Kemmerer, but decided to run for the senate seat as its term ends this year. She views the district as a chance to talk to twice as many people and have a larger impact for southwestern Wyoming. She also cites the fact that only one other woman, democrat Bernadine Craft of Rock Springs, is in the senate and a senator for the district has never been elected from Green River as additional motivations.

“Fred Baldwin is a new representative, but Stan Cooper (R-Kemmerer) has been in public service a very long time. We could use some new voices and energy,” she said.

Irwin said she’s announcing so early to avoid obstacles she encountered during her last race and to announce an intent to run for the seat, not against a particular candidate.

The top issues she wants to address if elected are the state’s budget, its economy and how they connect to residents’ quality of life. She would like to see a diverse energy industry that isn’t harmful to wildlife or the environment, as well as a diverse economy for the state that isn’t as reliant on the minerals industries without completely abandoning them.

“I think we can achieve whatever we set our hearts and minds to, but it will take as many ideas as we can get,” she said.

Irwin has 20 years of experience in the mining industry and has worked in the oil and gas industry. She is also a member of the Wyoming Outdoor Council.