WHEATLAND — Republican Dr. Taylor Haynes, of Cheyenne, visited with Wheatlanders about his run for governor at Platte Valley Bank on March 27.
Haynes’ background is in engineering and medicine, according to his website, taylorhaynesforgovernor.com. He earned a mechanical engineering degree at Southern University in Louisiana, then a medical degree from the University of Utah. He has lived in Wyoming 34 years.
Haynes said during an interview Friday the biggest issues facing Wyoming are sort of tied together. He said the state’s economic shortfall goes back to when Wyoming first became a state and did not maintain control over its own lands.
“We can do many things to fix this,” Haynes said. “We need to go back to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Wyoming … take over those lands and capture all the wealth for the people of Wyoming.”
Haynes explained the groundwork was laid back in the 1970s for Wyoming to take over management of multiple use lands from the Bureau of Land Management. He said the movement was called the Sagebrush Rebellion, when the Title 36 statutes were approved by the Legislature and put on the state’s books.
“Federal funding is our own money they dole back to us,” Haynes said. “When you take federal money, it costs more than if the state did it with state money.”
Haynes said if he is made governor, Wyoming will take over management of mineral producing lands that are currently managed by the BLM. He said Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and other national parks would remain under federal management, but Wyoming will get all the mineral royalties.
“Under Wyoming statutes, it’s already on the books to do just that,” Haynes said, adding the state House passed another bill to do it in 2013. “I would like to see another bill to make it even clearer, but I will enforce Title 36 statutes if I have no other legislation.”
Haynes said besides the budget deficit, a major concern is the lack of vocational education in Wyoming.
“I want to restructure way we do prep education,” Haynes said. “I think a child can finish prep education by their sophomore year, then we can put them on a university track or a vocational track.”
Haynes wants to “beef up” all programs in the state at the community college level in order to achieve a diversified workforce. He said it’s a real problem when companies don’t want to be located in Wyoming because they can’t find skilled workers here.
“I want to get rid of common core and get back to material-based education,” Haynes said.
Haynes said health care is fragmented now, but not everything is bad. He said some private efforts are doing good for health care, like faith-based cooperatives and concierge type practices.
“I will not expand Medicaid,” Haynes said.
Haynes wants to encourage competition and encourage insurers to write insurance plans across state lines. He said this can lower premium costs by creating bigger insurance pools.
Haynes founded and was president of the Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming Board of Directors; he’s served as president of Laramie County Stock Growers and Pole Mountain Grazing Association, as well as regional vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers; and has been active in many other private sector leadership positions over the years. He said being appointed by the governor to the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees for two terms was the closest he’s come to public office. He received the trustees’ Award of Merit.
He said although he hasn’t yet held public office, he has a lot of experience working in the public sphere.
Haynes touched briefly on some other issues.
“I am pro-life, without exception,” he said. “I’m a strong constitutionalist.”
Haynes is also interested in criminal justice reform. He said prisons are overcrowded, and the system doesn’t provide true rehabilitation.
