JHNG: "Propst to run again for commission"

Luther Propst, vice chair of the Teton County Board of County Commissioners, has been forthcoming about a re-run for county commission for a few months.

He hasn’t filed yet. The only person to do so as of press time Tuesday was challenger Alex Muromcew, a Republican.

Still, the 63-year-old Democrat hosted an announcement party at Snake River Brewing on Tuesday night to, as he said, drink beer, see friends and mobilize.

Propst didn’t fundraise at the Brew Pub, though he’s no stranger to asking for money.

The bulk of his career was spent founding, growing and directing the Sonoran Institute — a conservation organization with projects around the western United States and Mexico.

Luther Propst, who spent his career in conservation, is running for another four years as county commissioner, focused on taking a long-term approach to growth issues.

When he first ran for Teton County office in 2018, he had “very little name recognition” and spent over twice as much per vote as the next highest-spending candidate.

He didn’t set a budget this year for his campaign manager, Nikki Kaufman, who also is managing Arne Jorgensen’s campaign for Town Council. What he needs, he said, he’ll raise.

With joint planning and law degrees, Propst said he brings a “detached experience” to the board, on top of personal opinions built on a career spent in land law and conservation in the West.

“I’ve spent 30 years thinking about growth in resort communities,” Propst said.

Though he enjoys the challenge of diverse decision-making, Propst said the pull to run again lies in his passion for the deliberately tedious processes of local governance.

“Maybe it’s a character weakness,” he told the News&Guide. “In a weird, demented sort of way I like getting a package every Thursday afternoon that I have to get up to speed on by Monday.”

Propst’s campaign focuses on what he called the three existential threats facing Teton County: unhoused workers, unbalanced growth and mismanaged wildlife and water resources.

“I wish we could move faster on providing housing,” he said. Ditto on speeding up efforts to reduce traffic congestion, protect water quality and conserve wildlife.

But the state Legislature intentionally created local government to move slowly, he said, and he’s up for the deliberation and disagreement.

“We’re pretty badly divided on issues around the role of the private sector in managing growth and over some health issues around masking and so forth, but we do it small-town style where we disagree, but we don’t hold grudges against each other,” he said.

If there were any parts of the job he found frustrating, Propst said it would be that which he cannot change. Power in Teton County, he said, is diffuse.

Four federal agencies manage 97% of the county’s public lands. Major highways are managed by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Wyoming Game and Fish Department manages wildlife, what he called the “most important economic asset.” Half the county lives in the town of Jackson, overseen by a separate Town Council.

“We have a huge effective, influential philanthropic community, and so most things involve a mix of public and private funding,” he said. “You can’t suffer with the illusion of control. All you have is the ability to work with others.”

Propst appreciates the time he said commissioners take on some of the county’s most gnarled issues.

“I like the fact that it’s not unusual for the local paper to run a headline that says ‘County commission to kick the can down the road,’ because it’s good to take time and think through stuff,” he said.

Contact Sophia Boyd-Fliegel at county@jhnewsandguide.com or 307-732-7063.