Representative John Freeman, D-Green River, is seeking re-election to his House District 60 seat.
Freeman has served HD 60 in the Wyoming House since winning his first election in 2010. During Freeman’s tenure as a representative, he has served on the House Education Committee, Joint School Facilities Committee, the Management Council, The Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee, the Select Natural Resource Funding committee, among others. He was also selected to be on the Wyoming Distance Education Task Force.
Freeman thinks the 2019 legislative session will continue struggling with creating a balanced budget. Freeman supported the House’s proposal to use diverted sales revenue streams and take more revenue from the $20 billion Wyoming has in saving to fund education. However, Freeman thinks education concerns will continue into the next session as education is projected to have a $500 million deficit in the next biennium. Wyoming spends $16,000 per student, much of which Freeman attributes to the state’s low population spread across a large state and the state’s need to pay high wages to attract and retain qualified teachers and administrators. Wyoming’s K-12 system was rated seventh in the nation for the second year in a row and according to NAPE, the state’s students are the fifth-highest performing in the nation. He believes the long term solution to this problem will be determined by 65th Wyoming Legislature.
Freeman also supported Gov. Matt Mead’s ENDOW initiative to diversify the state’s economy through enhanced infrastructure, a trained technical workforce and other means. He also supported the state’s tourism industry and sees opportunity to grow tourism in Wyoming through the promotion and enhancement of outdoor recreation. He also thinks the state should continue funding local governments to help ensure quality services to the state’s residents.
Freeman has lived in Sweetwater County since 1971. He was a U.S. history and government teacher for Sweetwater County School District No. 1 for 32 years, teaching at both Rock Springs High School and the alternative high school. After retiring from the district in 2011, he became Western Wyoming Community College’s part time High School Transition Coordinator.
Freeman was presented with the Green River Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen award in 2017. He has served on many boards and commissions, including the Greenbelt Task Force, the Green River Recreation Board, Sweetwater County Recreation Board and is a past member of the WWCC Board of Trustees.
He also coached youth soccer for 14 years.
He is a graduate of Rock Springs High School, WWCC and the University of Wyoming. He is married to Theresa Collins Freeman and they have three grown sons: Michael, Matthew and Sean.
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