The November 2000 election saw Wyoming Greens elect their first officeholder, as Amy Moon won a seat on the Laramie City Council. Riding a wave of public discontent that saw three incumbents defeated (a fourth chose to leave the council rather than face uncertain re-election), Moon won a narrow victory, coming in fifth out of ten candidates for five seats on the nine-member Council.
Moon ran because she felt the City Council was unresponsive and not representative of the people of Laramie. "Many of the former council members were business owners that had private interests which influenced policy," she said. "This created problems for the community including unjust apportionment of resources in different parts of the city, and the placement of undesirable businesses in the city's least powerful areas.
She also pointed to the Council's unwillingness to confront the brutal hate crime murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21 year-old gay college student from the University of Wyoming.
Moon criticized the Council's neglect of working-class neighborhoods in Laramie, as well as for its poor handling of zoning in a major development case.
She joined neighborhood activists in opposing the Council's plan for a proposed large ice rink in an historic park and neighborhood, a plan that was opposed by the city's neighborhood organizations. The questionable structure will be placed over the recharge area of the city's aquifer.
Another example of what Moon felt was arrogance on the part of conservative Council, was their treatment of residents movement to˙ institute a ward system of districts in the city This movement was motivated by the neglect of some of Laramie's neighborhoods. The initiative provided 3 options for voters- 9 single member districts, 7 single-member districts with 2 elected at large, or the status-quo at-large system. During the election, Moon supported the 7-ward, 2 at-large system, and this choice won a plurality of votes. Prior to new Council members taking office, however, the sitting Council took advantage of an ambiguity in the state elections code as to whether a plurality or absolute majority was needed for approval The old council had formerly supported a 3 ward system (elected at large), and made a proclamation that this system was a fair compromise to no ward system (which they viewed as a possibility if the case was taken to court) thus ignoring the will of the people The 3 ward system has not been implemented at present, and the petitioners have taken their case to court.
Aside from the issues above, planning for growth in this city of 28,000 will be a high priority for the new Council˙ Laramie is for the first time establishing a housing commission and commissioning a housing study and conducting a comprehensive land use plan.
Sprawl, minimum wage jobs, and substandard housing are all issues of concern for Moon. "Laramie is practically devoid of decent affordable housing. With a housing market that is second only to Jackson statewide, and no codes to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords, the health and safety of the public are at stake. There are people living in rentals with dirt floors and in cellars."
Moon has worked with the Green Party since 1996, when she joined to work on the first Nader campaign as the Greens were founded in Wyoming. At 27, she is the seventh youngest Green to win a city council seat in the U.S. She will graduate from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor's Degrees in Geography and Psychology in the fall.
Many of the new Laramie Council members are progressives and Moon is excited to be a part of an awakening progressive movement in Laramie, as well as being part of the Greens statewide coalition with the Labor Party. Greens in Wyoming are heartened by her victory in their conservative state˙and are looking at other seats they can run for and win. They expect Moon's position will set a good example of elected Greens in Wyoming.
Source: Green Pages (http://www.greenpages.ws/)
