Sheila Arnold served in the Wyoming House of Representatives for fourteen years. She lost her first election by just 26 votes amidst a voting machine mix-up in which votes were miscounted. That didn’t deter her.
In 1978 she was appointed by the Albany County Commissioners to fill a vacated seat in the House. Arnold pledged to protect Wyoming’s clear skies, clean water and public lands. She was a strong supporter of the allocation of state budget funds to the University of Wyoming.
In 1980 she campaigned for repealing the state sales tax on food. Her campaign slogan, “Phone Sheila – She’ll Listen” was accompanied by her phone number. Transparency in government was important to her. Arnold lobbied for the introduction of electronic voting in the Wyoming legislature. She wanted to give the public visibility to the voting records of their senators and representatives.
Learn more about Representative Sheila Arnold by reading her papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.