Freeman won't seek re-election

John Freeman is retiring from the Wyoming Legislature.

Freeman, a Democrat representing Green River in House District 60, announced he will not seek re-election to the position he's held since 2011. Currently, a race has developed on the Republican side of the ticket between Mark Baker and Ted Barney and with Freeman opting not to run, leaves the Democrat side of the ticket empty as of press time. Filing for public office is scheduled to take place from May 14-29.

House District 60 encompasses approximately two-thirds of Green River.

"It has been an honor to serve in the Wyoming House of Representatives. I'm thankful that I was able to serve in the restored capitol building and meet in the territorial chamber where women were granted the right to vote 150 years ago," Freeman said in a press release.

During his time in the Legislature, Freeman served on several committees for long periods of time. He served on the House Education Committee for 10 years, the Management Council and the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee for eight years, and the Select Natural Resource Funding Committee for six years. He also served on committees related to education and industry, including Select Committee on the Wyoming Value Added Energy and Industrial Plan, the Governor's School Safety Task Force and the Complete College Wyoming Committee. He was also elected to serve as the Minority Caucus Chairman for four years.

Freeman is a longtime educator who currently works at Western Wyoming Community College as a high school transition coordinator.

At Western, he also works as an advisor to the student's Veterans Club and the college's Association of Non Traditional Students. He was a previous high school teacher having taught government and U.S. history in Sweetwater County School District No. 1 at both Rock Springs High School and the Alternative High School. His work in education also helped him represent schools at the Capitol.

"I was there to help the districts, the communities and Sweetwater County's residents," he said.

Freeman worked to reduce unneeded testing on students and helped advocate for the Rock Springs satellite high school and was involved in helping build the new Farson-Eden school and Black Butte High School as a member of the School Facilities Committee. Freeman also helped draft guidelines to fairly evaluate alternative high schools in Wyoming and was an advocate career and technical education, which led to him being appointed to several state committees. Freeman helped change how community college budgets were developed in order to help the colleges create a predictable revenue stream that allowed them to plan for the future.

Freeman was also the original House floor manager to create Wyoming's newest state park -- Quebec 1, a former guided missile command center.

Freeman has lived in Sweetwater County since 1971 and has been active since 1979. He was awarded the Outstanding Citizen award in 1994 for his work developing the Green River's Greenbelt. He was named Green River's Distinguished Citizen in 2017. He has served as the first chairman of the Green River Greenbelt Task Force, is a former Western Wyoming Community College trustee and is a past-president of the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees.

During a short interview with the Star, Freeman said he plans to take more time for himself, though he continues to look for opportunities to continue serving the community.

"But, I'm not in a hurry," Freeman said.