Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas. Additional reporting by Wyoming Public Radio’s Nicky Ouellet.
State leaders punted making decisions on grants for unmet housing needs at their April 2 meeting. Hours-long debate on an amendment that would require a citizenship check through a federal database led them to table discussion on the applications.
The meeting was a double-header of the State Board of Land Commissioners (SBLC) and the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB).
Both bodies are composed of the five statewide elected officials: Gov. Mark Gordon, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curtis Meier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
During SLIB’s portion of the meeting, nearly two dozen applications for the Unmet Housing Needs Grant Program were set to be considered. The program makes $5 million available to cities, towns, counties and tribal governments to help finance projects that directly support housing needs, including land acquisition, and infrastructure like water, sewer and utilities.
However at around the 8 hour and 30 minute mark, tensions rose once again between Gordon and Gray.
Earlier in the day, Gray brought an amendment that would require a citizenship check for individuals benefiting from the grants. Gray outlined a process where the Wyoming Business Council would use the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system and report findings back to the SLIB periodically. The secretary’s office uses the system to maintain the state’s voter lists.
“Now, this is a priority of the administration, is ensuring that these benefits are only afforded to United States citizens and this is a hole in the application. It's very simple to plug, is that we have the citizenship verification through the SAVE system,” Gray said.
A discussion ensued about the legality and implementation of Gray’s amendment, along with whether it’s redundant to existing background checks, before Gordon ruled it out of order. Gray appealed but couldn’t get a second.
Gray brought the same amendment again later in the meeting, reigniting the prior discussion.
About 40 minutes into round two, Gordon became heated as he tried to referee three SLIB members speaking at one.
“Hold on, hold on. Stop! Shut up!” Gordon said. “Listen, I have the superintendent. Then I will recognize you [Gray].”
“You're violating your rules,” Gray said. “You just referred to me in a negative fashion. You're violating your own rules for decorum.”
Gordon said, “We’re going to pause for a bit, come on” while standing up. Pointing toward the exit, he exchanged words with Gray that weren’t picked up by the microphone. Then the meeting’s live feed went black.
Gray told Wyoming News Now after the meeting, "When I was trying to get recognized, he [Gordon] would not recognize me. And then when I tried to say, ‘Look, I'd like to be recognized,’ he started shrieking and making a number of just really negative comments."
Gray and Gordon sparred earlier this year during debate on a large wind project, with the governor asking the secretary if he wanted “to step outside.”
Gordon’s office shared the following statement: "The Governor will not comment on Chuck Gray's continued, predictable mudslinging. Instead, the Governor's focus remains squarely on working for the people of Wyoming by strengthening our families and communities, growing our economy and promoting our outstanding natural resources and products to consumers both nationally and globally. While the Secretary continues his attempt to bolster his campaign [for Congress] by currying favor with President Trump using nothing but rhetoric, Governor Gordon is focused on implementing the President’s vision in matters like winning the AI data race. Secretary Gray’s vote today against a Laramie County starter housing project shows once again that he only wants to chase headlines with soundbites instead of implementing solid America First policies."
The meeting then carried on after a brief break.
The affordable housing topics will be on the agenda for the group’s next meeting, scheduled as a treasurer’s special working session, slated for April 23 at 8:00 a.m.
