State assessor job sought by Winters

A Republican member of the Wyoming House seeks election as the next Wyoming State Auditor.

Nathan Winters, a pastor from Thermopolis, wants to provide efficient and transparent service in the State Auditor’s Office. He has served in the Wyoming Legislature since 2013 in House District 28. The district encompasses the entirety of Hot Springs County, as well as parts of Park, Big Horn and Fremont counties.

“I know what it means to represent small communities,” Winters said.

While the state auditor doesn’t perform external audits, which Winters said has been completed by the Wyoming Department Audit since 1989, the state auditor does sit on several boards, including the Wyoming State Lands and Investments Board. It’s on board such as these that Winters wants to provide a voice to represent the people of Wyoming.

Winters said experience on several legislative committees, including the House Judiciary Committee; the Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee and the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee gives him a well-rounded understanding of the state and its economic drivers.

Winters said transparency within the office is important to him and has planned a five-step process to improve both transparency and efficacy in the office. First, he said he would build an assessment team, a group he has already started working to create. Next, he wants to assess software solutions to problems within the office and third, work on developing what he described as the next-level of training for vendor service. Fourth, he wants to stabilize the workforce within the office and finally, look for bottlenecks in vendor service.

Winters said vendor service, which relates to contractors performing work for the state, has had problems in the past involving timely payment of bills.

Winters also said he supports initiatives that support regional portions of the state, saying programs that work along Interstate 80 or Interstate 25 might not work in Wyoming’s more rural areas. One state-wide program Winters does support is the Wyoming Main Street Program, which he said works throughout the state.

Winters describes himself as not a person who will just go along with the flow, but will smile and ask the important questions impacting the state.

“I believe the experience and leadership the Lord has blessed me will serve well in this office,” Winters said.