Rep. Cathy Connolly (D-Albany) announced Tuesday that she plans to run for another term representing House District 13 in the Wyoming Legislature.

“In these times of economic uncertainty for the state, my institutional knowledge will help in setting an agenda that puts the needs of the people of the state at the center of our decision making, even with dwindling revenues,” says Connolly.

Connolly has lived in Laramie since 1992 when she joined the University of Wyoming as a professor. She says education is a top priority for her, and she plans continue to advocate for excellence at all levels of education throughout Wyoming.

“We need to be innovative, and encourage our schools to address problems such as high drop-out rates and bullying as well as to offer high quality curriculum that challenges our students,” says Connolly. “UW needs to prepare its graduates for living in a twenty-first century global environment.”

Connolly serves on the appropriations committee and says legislators missed the opportunity to expand Medicaid, which she describes as “a program that would not only help twenty thousand Wyoming citizens but also bring in hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the state for needed prevention programs and services.”

“Medicaid expansion would also help alleviate the strain on our community hospitals,” Connolly adds.

She says the Wyoming Legislature made the mistake of cutting programs that help individuals, such as programs geared toward curbing substance abuse.

“When we begin to cut needed services to our people, then we must begin to consider how to spend from our ‘rainy day account’ in meaningful ways. Simply cutting programs is not the solution.”

Connolly supports diversifying Wyoming’s economy to focus on the tech and tourism industries.

“For every one dollar we spend in tourism we get a minimum of seven dollars back,” says Connolly. “That’s money well spent.”

She is also focused on closing the wage gap between men and women while advocating for family leave and quality child care.

Connolly says she supports alternatives to incarceration rather than building new prisons, and revised rules to make programs that address impoverished families more accessible to those in need.

“We should be incredibly grateful that so many Wyomingites step up when their families are in crisis,” says Connolly.

“We need to thoughtfully invest in school, communities, and people in times of economic hardship,” says Connolly. “I am ready to do continue to do that job.”

Connolly has a 29-year-old son and recently got married, according to a press release from the Wyoming Democratic Party.

More From KOWB 1290