SWEETWATER COUNTY — Senator Bernadine L. Craft announced that she will not seek reelection.
According to a press release:
Sen. Bernadine L. Craft (D, Rock Springs) has announced that she will not be seeking re-election to the Wyoming Senate as the representative for Senate District #12. Craft, currently the lone woman in the Wyoming Senate, stated, “I have considered it the greatest honor and privilege to represent my hometown of Rock Springs and Sweetwater County for the past ten years. It was a difficult, painful choice to not run for re-election, but it has become clear to me that the ever increasing demands upon my time would have impacted my ability to be the strong voice and focused legislator I hope I have been. I understand the tremendous responsibility to be the voice of my constituency, especially in these challenging economic times. I was ordained to the Episcopal priesthood in the middle of my last Senate term; serving as the priest at Holy Communion Episcopal Church in Rock Springs is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. I will also continue to serve in the third position I am passionate about, which is the Executive Director of Sweetwater BOCES. When I shared with a close friend my conflict over trying to provide full-time services to the three positions I truly love: the Senate, the Church and BOCES, the response was, ‘Bernadine, you are trying to romance too many sweethearts.’ It is with great sadness that I bid farewell to one of my sweethearts, the Wyoming Senate.”
Craft currently serves in Senate leadership as Minority Whip and on the Senate Rules and Procedures Committee. Her standing committees are the Joint Committee on Labor, Health and Social Services and the Joint Committee on Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources. She also serves on the Select Committees on Tribal Relations and Archaic Laws as well as on the Dept. of Family Services Advisory Council and the Wyoming Humanities Council. She serves on the Health and Human Services Committee for both the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Council of State Governments (West), where she is also a member of the Finance Committee.
Sen. Craft was the recipient of the 2012 “PEACE Award” from the statewide Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Craft was cited for her leadership primarily because of her sponsorship or co-sponsorship of legislation addressing issues of importance to the coalition; most noteworthy were the “Safe Homes Act” and the penalty legislation for the strangulation of a household member. Additionally, she received the Humane Society’s “Friend of the Animals” citation for her work on issues related to animal cruelty. In 2014, she was awarded the Wyoming “Friend of Education” Award from the Wyoming Education Association for her advocacy of education and teachers; Craft has received the local “Friend of Education” Award from the Sweetwater Education Association on two separate occasions. In 2015 she was listed by AARP as a “Capitol Caregiver,” joining a group of elected officials nationwide acknowledged for their work.
When asked what she would like people to remember about her time in the legislature, Sen. Craft commented that we all hope we can make a difference; we all hope we can effect change that will positively impact the lives of our citizens. She hopes she will be remembered as an individual who always put people first, and who always spoke out on issues she considered critical: quality education for all students; quality health care for all citizens; economic diversification; workplace safety; adequate local government funding; and water, wildlife, and public lands. Craft stated “I am well aware that no legislation can be enacted without the cooperative efforts of many; no one legislator can accomplish anything without support from both sides of the aisle. I am very proud of the number of bills I have either sponsored or co-sponsored that have been signed into law. I have always hoped to be the voice for those who have no voice, a position I will continue even when I am no longer a member of the Senate.”
Sen. Craft states that her heart was broken by the failure of the legislature of adopt the optional Medicaid expansion. “To decline federal money in this time of shrinking revenues, when we accept it in so many other areas, to deny insurance coverage to vulnerable citizens, to place significant uncompensated care burdens upon our hospitals and to negatively impact our economy in this vulnerable time was, in my opinion, the worst decision that has been made in my tenure as a legislator.” Craft further expressed concern over the “double jeopardy” burden of cuts to education when enrollments and thus funding are declining, and the failure to adopt an appropriate funding model for local governments. Her further disappointment was that the state failed to adopt a formula for tapping into “rainy day funds,” an account established to address an economic downtown such as that currently facing Wyoming. “I acknowledge the importance of saving a portion of our state resources, and recognize that legislative fiscal responsibility and conservative spending have allowed Wyoming to continue to be one of the very few states to maintain reserves such as the ‘rainy day fund’. However, I also believe it is a disservice to our citizens to not determine an appropriate formula to prudently and conservatively make use of monies that were saved for the ‘rainy day’ we are all experiencing.”
“I will miss the Senate,” Craft stated. “I will miss my ‘29 brothers’ who, while we often disagreed, were never disagreeable. I firmly believe we all address every issue with the best interests of our constituents in mind, even when we differ. I respect their dedication and commitment, and can honestly say I enjoyed every moment spent with the legislators and staff who give so much to our great state. While I am leaving the Senate, I will never leave public service, and will never abandon my commitment to the citizens of Sweetwater County. I am proud to endorse Liisa Anselmi-Dalton in her campaign for election to Senate District 12.”
