Erin Edwards (Republican)

P.O. Box 4303
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003
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I'm a lifelong Wyoming resident, born and raised in Cheyenne.
My life has been built around service coming from a military family. I am a volunteer firefighter/EMT and dedicated public servant. As a firefighter of 24 years, I've answered calls when my neighbors needed help most. I also served as a Department of Defense contract firefighter in Iraq to support our troops with fire and emergency services during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
I understand the importance of hard work, personal responsibility, and living within your means.
I work for the State as the Risk Manager.
I enjoy reading various genres. I also enjoy outdoor activities including paddle boarding, golf, and river floats.
I like to attend as many University of Wyoming Men's Cowboy Basketball games as possible each year. It's something I did with my grandparents for many years growing up.

My experience as a firefighter has taught me the importance of teamwork and accountability. It has shaped my commitment to serving others with integrity, courage, and common sense. My various
positions in the fire service, currently as a battalion operations captain and command staff,
have given me experience in leadership and making sound decisions under pressure.
My budgeting experience will guide me during fiscal conversations and budgetary matters.

Laramie County Community College – Associate's Degree in General Studies
University of Wyoming – Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice
American Military University
Undergraduate Certificate – Counterintelligence
Graduate Certificate – Intelligence Studies

Various firefighting certifications in structural, wildland, and ARFF firefighting as well as technical rescue
Wyoming EMT-Basic certification

Certified Risk Manager's Designation

Volunteer with Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Committee for 12 years.
Volunteer firefighter/EMT with Laramie County Fire Authority (Formerly Laramie County Fire District #2) for 24 years.

I am running to help bring back common sense and conversation to the Legislature. Problems are very difficult to solve without those two elements. I want to bring back a voice to the people in my district and to Wyoming, and I want to focus on Wyoming’s values. I want to expand my scope of helping people beyond my time in the fire service to be able to help more people. I want to help Wyoming succeed because our people benefit when Wyoming succeeds.

When I was in my early 20s, I often joined my grandpa, Fred Kinnier, and his friends for lunch. One day during a conversation about politics, one of his friends told me I should run for office. That conversation planted a seed in my brain that made me curious about politics and eventually led me to tossing around the idea to run for office one day. I decided that this is the year to run so I can affect positive changes for my district and for Wyoming as well as bring back our voices.

1) Support, protect, and grow the State's top 3 economic producers:
Energy
Agriculture
Tourism

2) Education – One of our children's first opportunities towards their future is in our education system. I want to ensure the teachers are supported to be able to provide the best education for our children. I also want to look into the funding structure to ensure there is no waste of funds for administrative functions and positions that are duplicative as well as ensure salaries are commensurate with market rates.

3) Property Taxes – As a homeowner I appreciate lower property taxes. However, the detrimental impact lowering property taxes has had and may continue to have on the entities and special districts that rely on property taxes to function demonstrates a lack of forward thinking and understanding future impacts when the property tax reductions were passed. I have witnessed this first hand at my fire department. Essential services are now at risk of being cut due to lack of funding. We need to resolve the property tax issue meaningfully and in a well thought out manner to ensure any domino effect of negative impacts are minimal, if not eliminated.