October 12, 2006
Dave Perry, Times publisher
Rawlins Daily Times

Gov. Dave Freudenthal went door-to-door in Rawlins on Wednesday evening.

He was escorted by two security people. That’s one of the differences from four years ago, when the Democrat ran in much greater anonymity for the state’s top elected position. This time, too, he has a job, that of governor.

“We’ve decided the public, and rightly so, will not tolerate me putting a sign on the governor’s door, ‘gone campaigning, back in two months,’” Freudenthal said. “I love doing it, I wish I could do more, but I’ve got a job.”

So, then, this campaign has “the limitation of time” on the campaign trail. “We used to come to town, we used to stay here for a couple days.” No more. The Rawlins campaign stop came after a state building commission that lasted until noon Wednesday. After packing, Freudenthal caught a burger in Laramie, spent several hours in Rawlins, then drove to Rock Springs for a full day on the trail Thursday. He’ll be part of a delegation of legislators and business people going to South Dakota on Friday to study how that state addresses vocational education. “There are some big  decisions this state’s about to make” said the governor,“ and technical training is one of them. “South Dakota’s been at it a lot longer than we have.”

Freudenthal enjoys the trail. “It’s so much more fun to go door to door in Rawlins, now that people have work. There is a much greater sense of optimism than there was four years ago.”

The governor realizes his good fortune. “If I had to pick between the bust I campaigned in, and trying to deal with the issues I have to deal with now,” he much prefers the current state of affairs.

Door-to-door campaigning is “an interesting way to just ask people what’s on their minds,” he said. “One lady in Rawlins told me the growth is OK, but there’s too much traffic in Rawlins.” That may not have been the case four
years ago.

The security detail is “bizarre,” Freudenthal allows, but there are moments he needs security, particularly door to door. “People back up,” he said.

“Last time, we weren’t identifiable,” he said. “Now you are identifiable. The great thing about Wyoming is 99.9 percent are wonderful people, but we are not immune to the eccentrics of the world.”

Freudenthal shook hands and spoke with individuals at the Quality Inn on Wednesday, then offered brief remarks.

He urged people to sign an “Axe the Tax” petition that is intended to make permanent the elimination of the sales tax on food.

“I do have the two-hour ‘how great I am’ speech, but I’ve found there’s very, very little interest in it,” the governor said.