Rep. Mary Throne -- one of the good ones -- announces reelection bid

I've leafletted a few neighborhoods and made phone calls on behalf of Mary Throne. And I may just do it again, even though I'm not lucky enough to have her as my Rep. This news comes from a WyoDems press release:

Representative Mary Throne, House District 11, announced today she intends to seek re-election to the Wyoming House of Representatives. The House Minority Whip is seeking her fourth term representing her Laramie County constituents.

Throne is widely recognized as a bi-partisan leader, able to work across the aisle on issues of importance to the state of Wyoming and Cheyenne, particularly in the areas of energy and education. In 2011, she was the House sponsor for legislation to provide road assistance for counties impacted by the Niobrara play. Laramie County received $1.7 following the passage of the bill. When she saw her children losing nearly a month of class time to PAWS and learned Wyoming was spending millions of dollars more than most surrounding states on testing, she teamed with fellow legislators to streamline Wyoming’s K-12 assessment system. Rep. Throne was then appointed to serve as the only Laramie County member of the Select Committee on Statewide Educational Accountability. She has been the prime sponsor of successful bills to assist deployed military with child custody orders, to improve Wyoming’s property tax appeal system, and to increase access to legal services, as well as being a strong advocate for worker safety.

“The best legislative work I have done does not carry my name.  When we park our politics and focus on finding solutions to the issues that matter to the people of Wyoming, only then are we doing our jobs. Wyoming is facing an uncertain funding future due to low natural gas prices. Fortunately, we have saved during the good times to help prepare for this situation.  If re-elected by the voters in House District 11, I am committed to working with my colleagues to preserve essential government services.” Throne said.

In addition to her other legislative duties, Rep. Throne serves on Judiciary, Rules, Management Audit, the Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments, where she is Vice-Chair, the Taskforce on Capitol Building Restoration and Energy Council.   As one of a handful of women serving, Rep. Throne is the Vice-Chair of the bipartisan Wyoming Women’s Legislative Caucus, a group that actively works to encourage women candidates at all levels of government.

Rep. Throne and her husband, Kevin Boyce, a geologist, have three sons at home.  She is a member of Rotary, the First Presbyterian Church, and the Laramie County School District’s Parent Advisory Committee.  Throne grew up on a ranch in Campbell County, earned an undergraduate degree at Princeton and her law degree at Columbia Law School, graduating in 1988. She returned to Wyoming in 1992 to work as an Assistant Attorney General, representing the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality before moving into private practice in 1999.