Last revised 14 June 2007
The 2006 Wyoming Liberty Index is now available. The tables for the two houses of the Wyoming legislature are shown below.
The Top Dozen liberty-supporting members in the House were (in order) Representatives Jackson, Landon, Bucholz, Jones, Samuelson, Brechtel, Reese, Olsen, Miller, Semlek, Gilmore and Mercer. This year we can say with some assurance that Representative Burke Jackson was the most liberty-supporting member of the House of Representatives; some other members in the Top Dozen were clustered closely enough in score that it is uncertain in what order they should actually be ranked.
The Need Improvement - those members who most consistently voted to limit freedom - were (in order) Representatives Bagby, Slater and White (tied for 12th worst), Esquibel, Berger, Lubnau, Brown, Osborn, Hastert, Hammons, Harvey, and in last place, Jane Warren. Representative Warren has earned the title of "Most Liberty-Hostile Member of the House", but Hammons and Harvey were very close behind her.
The Top Half-Dozen liberty-supporting members in the Senate were (in order) Senators Case, Mockler, Hines, Ross, Hanes, and Burns (a repeat performance for all but Ross, from last year). For the third year running (as long as we have been rating the Senate), Senator Cale Case is shown to be the most liberty-supporting member of the Senate by a very large margin. Kudos to Senator Case!
The Senate Need Improvement - those members who most consistently voted to limit freedom - were (in order) Senators Jennings, Peck, Barrasso, Cooper, Boggs, and Aullman. Senator Pat Aullman has earned the title of "Most Liberty-Hostile Member of the Senate", but Senator Boggs - ranked most liberty-hostile in 2005 - is close behind her.
In the charts below, where more than one member shows the same rank, it means of course that they tied in score. Legislators shown in pink are those who voted against HB78 (that is, they believe citizens should have to get permission from government to defend their families). This particular vote is singled out because it is such a strong indicator of a legislator's views on freedom.
The most liberty-supporting legislators are at the top of the table.
| Name | Party | District | District Location | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke Jackson | R | 52 | Campbell | 1 |
| Jack Landon Jr. | R | 30 | Sheridan | 2 |
| Kurt S. Bucholz | R | 47 | Carbon/Albany | 3 |
| Alan Jones | R | 25 | Park | 4 |
| Doug Samuelson | R | 7 | Laramie | 4 |
| Bob Brechtel | R | 38 | Natrona | 6 |
| Wayne Reese | D | 11 | Laramie | 6 |
| Monte Olsen | R | 22 | Lincoln/Sublette/Teton | 8 |
| David Miller | R | 55 | Fremont | 9 |
| Mark Semlek | R | 1 | Crook/Weston | 10 |
| Mary Meyer Gilmore | D | 59 | Natrona | 10 |
| Erin Mercer | R | 53 | Campbell | 12 |
| Pete Illoway | R | 42 | Laramie | 13 |
| Randall B. Luthi | R | 21 | Lincoln | 13 |
| Stephen Watt | R | 17 | Sweetwater | 15 |
| Rodney "Pete" Anderson | R | 10 | Laramie | 16 |
| Deborah Alden | R | 3 | Converse/Platte | 17 |
| Ross Diercks | D | 2 | Niobrara/Weston/Converse/Goshen | 17 |
| Roy Cohee | R | 35 | Natrona | 19 |
| Lorraine Quarberg | R | 28 | S. Big Horn/Hot Springs/SE Park | 20 |
| Frank Philp | R | 34 | Fremont | 21 |
| Steve Harshman | R | 37 | Natrona | 22 |
| Becket Hinckley | R | 41 | Laramie | 23 |
| Charles P. "Pat" Childers | R | 50 | Park | 23 |
| James C. Hageman | R | 5 | Goshen/Platte | 25 |
| Pete Jorgensen | D | 16 | Teton | 25 |
| Owen Petersen | R | 19 | Uinta | 27 |
| Edward A. Buchanan | R | 4 | Goshen | 28 |
| Jeff Wasserburger | R | 32 | Campbell | 28 |
| Colin M. Simpson | R | 24 | Park | 30 |
| Keith Gingery | R | 23 | Fremont/Teton | 30 |
| Layton Morgan | D | 12 | Laramie | 32 |
| Dan Zwonitzer | R | 43 | Laramie | 33 |
| Thomas A. Lockhart | R | 57 | Natrona | 34 |
| Bryan Pedersen | R | 9 | Laramie | 35 |
| Ann Robinson | D | 58 | Natrona | 36 |
| Bruce Barnard | R | 49 | Uinta | 37 |
| Gerald Gay | R | 36 | Natrona | 37 |
| Kathy Davison | R | 20 | Lincoln/Sublette/Sweetwater | 37 |
| Mick Powers | R | 18 | Uinta/Sweetwater | 40 |
| W. Patrick Goggles | D | 33 | Fremont | 40 |
| Del McOmie | R | 54 | Fremont | 42 |
| Larry Meuli | R | 8 | Laramie | 42 |
| Jerry Iekel | R | 29 | Sheridan | 44 |
| Tom Walsh | R | 56 | Natrona | 45 |
| Bill Thompson | D | 60 | Sweetwater | 46 |
| Dave Edwards | R | 6 | Converse | 47 |
| Marty Martin | D | 48 | SW Fremont/Sweetwater | 47 |
| George Bagby | D | 15 | Carbon | 49 |
| Jim Slater | R | 46 | Albany | 49 |
| Kevin A. White | R | 45 | Albany | 49 |
| Floyd A. Esquibel | D | 44 | Laramie | 52 |
| Rosie Berger | R | 51 | Sheridan | 53 |
| Thomas E. Lubnau II | R | 31 | Campbell | 53 |
| Kermit C. Brown | R | 14 | Albany | 55 |
| Douglas D. Osborn | R | 40 | Johnson/Sheridan | 56 |
| John M. Hastert | D | 39 | Sweetwater | 57 |
| Debbie Hammons | D | 27 | Washakie | 58 |
| Elaine Harvey | R | 26 | Big Horn/Park | 58 |
| Jane Warren | D | 13 | Albany | 60 |
The most liberty-supporting legislators are at the top of the table.
| Name | Party | District | District Location | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cale Case | R | 25 | Fremont | 1 |
| E. Jayne Mockler | D | 8 | Laramie | 2 |
| John Hines | R | 23 | Campbell | 3 |
| Tony Ross | R | 4 | Laramie | 4 |
| John Hanes | R | 5 | Laramie | 5 |
| Bruce Burns | R | 21 | Sheridan | 6 |
| Curt Meier | R | 3 | Goshen/Platte | 6 |
| Bill Vasey | D | 11 | Albany/Carbon | 8 |
| John Schiffer | R | 22 | Sheridan/Johnson | 9 |
| Phil Nicholas | R | 10 | Albany | 10 |
| Rae Lynn Job | D | 12 | Sweetwater/Fremont | 11 |
| Grant C. Larson | R | 17 | Teton/Fremont | 12 |
| Ken Decaria | D | 15 | Uinta | 13 |
| Michael Von Flatern | R | 24 | Campbell | 13 |
| Gerald E. Geis | R | 20 | S Big Horn/Hot Springs/SE Park/Washakie | 15 |
| Mike Massie | D | 9 | Albany | 16 |
| Jim Anderson | R | 2 | Converse/Platte | 17 |
| Ray Peterson | R | 19 | Big Horn/E Park | 18 |
| Kathryn Sessions | D | 7 | Laramie | 19 |
| Wayne H. Johnson | R | 6 | Laramie | 19 |
| Bill Hawks | R | 29 | Natrona | 21 |
| Henry H. R. "Hank" Coe | R | 18 | Park | 21 |
| Charles K. Scott | R | 30 | Natrona | 23 |
| Charles Townsend | R | 1 | Crook/Weston/E Converse/Niobrara/NE Goshen | 23 |
| Kit Jennings | R | 28 | Natrona | 25 |
| Robert A. Peck | R | 26 | Fremont | 26 |
| John Barrasso | R | 27 | Natrona | 27 |
| Stan Cooper | R | 14 | Lincoln/Sublette/Sweetwater/Uinta | 27 |
| Tex Boggs | D | 13 | Sweetwater | 29 |
| Pat Aullman | R | 16 | Lincoln/Sublette/Teton | 30 |