Teton County Democratic Party 2024 Platform
PREAMBLE
The Teton County Democratic Party is the party of the people. Our legacy is based on the connection between our community and our environment, and we recognize that people who are invested in our community are inherently invested in our shared environment.
HOUSING
We support accessible, stable, and dignified housing options for all economic and cultural groups, regardless of citizenship, and community-wide funding measures to make it possible.
—We support a permanent and dedicated government funding source for the provision of housing community members.
— We support the work of all local housing agencies, organizations, and businesses that are providing stable and affordable housing.
— We support a diversity of tools designed to protect housing affordability and stability for future generations, such as density incentives, deed and lease restrictions, purchase of restrictions on existing homes, and rental protections.
— We support safe, sanitary, and adequate living conditions for tenants and the use of written leases to ensure sufficient notice of rent hikes, termination of leases, and/or evictions.
— We support the urgent consideration of reducing parking requirements to promote the building of more housing.
— We support housing mitigation and greater participation in the process.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every person should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion, as well as making other decisions about their bodies.
CLIMATE CHANGE
We support the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and that humans have significantly contributed to it and call for bold action to address our changing climate.
— We support efforts at all levels of government and the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts in the production, transmission and consumption of energy, and the environmentally responsible development of renewable energy.
— We believe climate change impacts everyone on our planet, exacerbating economic instability, causing irreversible damage to our biodiversity, and disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations globally.
— It is essential we join other communities, towns, and counties and take action locally to do our part to eliminate our man-made contributions to global warming and thereby climate change.
— We support the Town of Jackson carbon neutral 2030 resolution and the coordination between the town and county to achieve these necessary goals.
— We support the creation of a town and county climate action department to assess, advise and combat the effects of climate change locally and regionally through the implementation of preventative and mitigating measures.
ENVIRONMENT
The protection of Wyoming’s air, water, land, and wildlife through legislation, policies, regulations, and enforcement ensures development does not cause irreparable damage to our shared community and environment.
— We support the community stewardship and conservation ethic set forth in our Comprehensive Plan.
— We acknowledge that the protection of our environment can have unequal impacts on our community members and support actions to mitigate these impacts.
— We support continued federal ownership and management of public lands in Teton County and around the nation.
— We support continued funding for research and mitigation in response to waterways in Jackson Hole now being listed as “impaired” by environmental regulators due to fecal bacteria pollution and high nitrate levels.
— We support fully funding the maintenance and management of our state-owned land.
— We support Reduce, Reuse, Recycle with a goal of zero waste.
— We support the production and consumption of local and regional foods.
— We support placing an appropriate price on pollution to reflect its human toll as well as its environmental toll.
— We support coordination with and advocacy to state wildlife and public land management agencies to align their programs with the vision statement of the Teton County / Jackson Comprehensive Plan.
TRANSPORTATION
We support the goals of the Integrated Transportation Plan.
— We support the implementation of a community wide Transportation Demand Management Program (TDM).
— We support a community-designed vision for future reconstruction of the Highway 22 & 390 corridor.
— We support local, state, and Federal efforts to install and expand alternative-fuel vehicle infrastructure.
— We support planning for a regional transportation plan linking gateway communities to the National Parks.
— We support funding for public transportation including the START (Southern Teton Area Rapid Transit) and bus system fleet upgrades to low and no emission.
— We support transportation infrastructure that is designed to reduce wildlife conflicts.
— We support a comprehensive sidewalk system in the Town of Jackson and mixed-use communities.
— We support managed, paid, and permitted parking within the town to promote the use of public transportation and non-motorized travel.
HEALTHCARE
Accessible, comprehensive, and quality healthcare from birth to death is a human right.
— We support a Single Payer system as the most efficient way to achieve universal healthcare.
— We support the strengthening of Medicare and the expansion of Medicaid.
— We support accessibility and federal, state, and local funding for women’s health services to a full range of affordable, personal healthcare choices and family planning for all people.
— We recognize drug and alcohol addiction as diseases and support legislation in favor of treating nonviolent addicts instead of incarcerating them.
— We support the expansion and funding of mental healthcare services at the local level and in the state of Wyoming.
— We support improving community healthcare and social services, which includes greater coordination with the Department of Health and Department of Family Services.
— We support healthy communities through the promotion of public health education.
ECONOMY
A productive, healthy economy is based on dignity, sustainability, resilience, and the recognition of the extreme wealth inequality that exists in our community.
— We support local control.
— We support raising the minimum wage to a livable wage to make it possible for everyone to provide for and spend time with their family.
— We support equal pay for equal work.
— We acknowledge a local workforce is essential to our economy.
— We support the diversification of our Wyoming economy to transition from reliance on fossil fuel revenue including a broad, equitable, and sustainable tax base.
— We support vibrant commerce free of undue regulation so that businesses can thrive in a predictable and fair environment.
— We support changes to State Statutes to permit additional local revenue options such as real estate transfer tax or additional special tax districts.
— We support adequate funding of our local government, allowing it to address the preservation of our community and our environment in implementing the goals and vision of our Comprehensive Plan.
EDUCATION
Education is an investment in our people, our community and our economy.
— We support reducing year-round food insecurity for students in K-12 to ensure they may achieve a quality education.
— We support full funding for childcare, universal access to early childhood education, family literacy, special education, and adult education with expanded lifelong learning opportunities that will promote economic diversity and job opportunities.
— We believe in education based on facts that emphasizes critical thinking skills and civic literacy and recognize that it is a bedrock of a functional democracy.
—We recognize and respect the professional expertise of our educators in establishing curricula.
— We believe students have a right to be given regular breaks from the rigor of classroom academics to take part in outdoor, creative, and/or unstructured play.
— We support the establishment of a steady funding stream for Wyoming education, and school construction and maintenance, to end our dependence on the boom-bust cycle of the extraction industry.
— We support schools that provide equal access to instruction for all students, including programming that develops the abilities and interests of every student in all fields of endeavor.
— We support an education system that respects and fully supports teachers, including fairly compensating them based on community living standards and their value to society.
— We support volunteer and community partnerships that enrich learning in our schools.
— We support comprehensive sex and health education in schools that offers facts, support, and resources.
— We support maintaining the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) student loan program, and efforts to make higher education more affordable.
IMMIGRATION
Immigrants have shown that they make our nation live up to its promise and hope regardless of their religious, cultural, gender identity or national identity. We recognize the vital role that immigrants have contributed and will contribute to the economy of Teton County.
— We support legislative action to allow non-citizens access to a Wyoming driver’s license as it is in the best interest of all and will ensure all drivers are eligible for insurance.
— We support legislative action by Congress to address the broken immigration system and support immigration enforcement that is humane and consistent with our values.
— We support comprehensive immigration reform that includes the permanent adoption of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).
— We support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been living and working in the United States and who have not been convicted of a violent crime.
— We support the establishment of a refugee resettlement program in the State of Wyoming.
CIVIL RIGHTS
All people regardless of race, ethnic origin, skin color, gender identity/expression, age, disability, religion, or sexual orientation are full members of our community. A full member of our community retains and may exercise all rights and liberties guaranteed to them under the U.S. Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution.
— We believe all members of our community should be treated with full equity and dignity. In order for our community to treat all individuals with respect and dignity, the evil of white supremacy must be dismantled. We do this by learning about our past, listening, leaning into hard conversations, and taking action against systemic racial injustice and violence.
— We support every person’s right to have unrestricted access to pregnancy prevention services and the full range of reproductive healthcare choices including abortions.
— We support efforts to sustain and care for our growing population of seniors so that they may continue to lead productive and meaningful lives within our community.
— We support the right of Americans to own firearms, which comes with responsibilities.
— We believe it is in the best interest of the public to keep schools and other public spaces gun-free zones.
We believe that a strong background check policy and age requirement are the foundation of comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy.
We support laws that save lives by keeping guns away from domestic abusers.
— We support local efforts to provide free or affordable legal assistance to all community members who need it, including those who are not citizens.
— We affirm the constitutional right of the presumption of innocence, the right to due process of law, and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
— We oppose the privatization of prisons and detention centers.
— We support the legalization and taxation of the possession, distribution, and cultivation of Cannabis for medical and recreational purposes.
ELECTIONS
A fair election process that preserves the Constitutional right of every American citizen to vote, is the basis for American democracy.
— We support both the John Lewis Voting Act and Freedom to Vote Act.
—We support the reform of the Electoral Count Act.
— We support restoration and rigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, implementing automatic voter registration, access to voting while incarcerated, and restoring felon voting rights upon successful completion of a judicial sentence.
— We oppose actions that undermine this fairness, including voter restrictions, gerrymandering, unnecessary districting, and harassment of election officials and poll workers.
— We support full reporting of all political contributions prior to elections, and full disclosure of financial interest in governmental and legislative matters, and we oppose unlimited secret money from any source.
SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM
Service and volunteerism are a foundation of our community and society.
— We support our troops and believe the best way to protect our troops is by not sending them into needless wars, not promoting irrational rhetoric, providing them with the equipment and technology they need to be safe, and honoring our long-term obligations to our veterans.
— We support law enforcement and commend those who protect and honor our constitutional rights.
— We support and commend the dedicated public servants who steward and protect our public lands.
— We support volunteerism in our community and recognize that volunteers help our community grow and are essential to a healthy democracy.
SOCIAL SERVICES
A robust network of social services is essential to a healthy community.
— We will fight efforts to undermine Social Security.
— We recognize the need for more complete coordination and communication between service providers.
— We support access to quality childcare for all, which includes appropriately trained and compensated care providers. Early childhood care providers are teachers and should be compensated as such.
ARTS & HUMANITIES
A flourishing arts scene enriches our lives, adds diversity to our community, and cultivates innovation and connection.
— We support and celebrate the arts and humanities in our community.
— We support full funding for creative arts and humanities education and recognize the importance of the arts in childhood development, education, and well-being.
— We support continued public investment in the arts, especially in our local artist community, and acknowledge the economic benefits.