Bedwell on Riverside ballot

Ron Bedwell, the current mayor of Riverside, will be on this November’s ballot for mayor again.

Bedwell received three write-in votes, the minimum required, during the primary election and has agreed to run in the general election. Bedwell said, “I guess its worth a try.”

Bedwell is happy with the accomplishments the town has made during his term in office. “At least with the time that I have been mayor there are some things that we have accomplished with Encampment that we hadn’t been able to do before,” Bedwell said, adding, “As long as the two towns can work together, there are some possibilities that we can get some other things done.”

When asked about who the write-in voters may have been Bedwell said he had no idea. He also does not see much difference in how the town would be run if Leroy Stephenson or he were elected.

Bedwell will not be doing much campaigning and said, “With 52 people how much campaigning can you do?” Instead, Bedwell said he will hope for the best and if he is not elected, that is OK too.

During an interview, Bedwell was asked about two issues that affect Riverside and all of southern Carbon County, the potential Fire Protection District (FPD) and the recent controversies within the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Service (SCWEMS).

Bedwell said “ [I am] Sort of disappointed in the board of SCWEMS that they haven’t handled things better than they have.” Bedwell was referring to the extra pay for volunteers in Saratoga and calls for the resignation of Bill Dahlke who will resign effective Jan. 2015.

Mayor Bedwell said he still needs to have more information about how the FPD would work before he can decide if it is a good thing for Riverside or not. Citing the experience of friends in Colorado, Bedwell said, “Fire districts aren’t really highly thought of down there because they become their own entity and get out of hand for what they demand.” He thinks the FPD could end up being just a new tax.

“We’ve got an excellent volunteer fire department and people don’t really need any more taxes,” Bedwell said. He is not sure where a new fire station could be placed that would do the people outside of town any more good than the services that are already provided.