Three chosen by county Republicans

A former county commissioner, an involved member of the Sweetwater GOP and the former executive director of the YWCA were the three selected by county Republicans as people the Sweetwater County commissioners will consider to fulfill the remainder of Don Van Matre’s term.

John Kolb, Island Richards and Lauren Schoenfeld were chosen at the end of a process involving 16 candidates and lasting more than five hours.

While Kolb and Richards were clear favorites at the end of the day, with Richards receiving 27 votes from Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen and Kolb receiving 18, a tie developed between Schoenfeld and Mary Thoman, both receiving 11 votes. During two tiebreaker votes, Thoman and Schoenfeld would receive 14 votes apiece, with one vote cast for a different candidate and one ballot being returned blank in both instances. The decision came to drawing a name from a hat.

The three will be interviewed by the commissioners during their June 18 meeting.

The commissioners will have until June 30 to make a decision. If the group fails to do so, the decision will then be made by a district court judge.

Kolb is a former county commissioner, having served from 2010-2018, being defeated during the 2018 primary election by Randy Wendling, Roy Lloyd and Jeffery Smith. Among Kolb’s accomplishments is his work to help secure state funding for the Sweetwater County Justice Center, the current location for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and circuit court.

Richards is a longtime fixture of the Sweetwater GOP, having served in multiple capacities. He is also a member of the Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning Commission, a board appointed by the commissioners to help shape development in the county’s unincorporated areas.

Schoenfeld is the former executive director of the YWCA and currently works at Simplot as its senior HR director.

She was formerly involved in law enforcement and has served on a number of county and state committees and boards, including the Proud Wyoming Woman Retreat committee, the state’s Broadband Advisory Council and the Joint Powers Telecommunications Board.