Elections - Basin Town Council

Stuart DesRosier

Bio 

My name is Stuart DesRosier, I have a degree in Political Science from the University of Montana. At the same time I was awarded a commission In the U.S.Army serving both actively and in the National Guard for 13 years.. I later received a degree in Social Science Broad Field education. I moved to Wyoming in the summer of 1998. In 2008 I received a master’s degree in Educational Administration. 

I have been employed at Bighorn School District .#4 as a social studies teacher at both the middle and high school levels. In addition to my teaching duties I am also the middle school football coach, the National Honor Society Coordinator, the Academic Challenge coach, lead teacher of Riverside High School and Boy’s State coordinator. I have tried to serve the Basin community by previously being an EMT and am currently the Assistant Chief of the Basin Fire Department

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town?

There are several issues facing the Town of Basin. We need to continue the upkeep and improvement of the infrastructure; particularly water,sewer and electricity grid. I have previously served on the Basin Town Council and would like to continue the gains made during that time. My priorities in spending the limited budgets would be on those same three issues.

What is your stance on government transparency, including public notices, open meetings, public records, and communication with the press?

My views on governmental transparency is that it is vital for our system to have public participation. To facilitate that,showing the public what their elected officials are doing is crucial. Holding the elected accountable is the basis of our republic..I encourage everyone to attend and participate governmental meetings and stay informed on the decisions made.

Jennifer Sue Riley 

Bio 

(Born July 25th 1979) Born and Raised in Greybull. Graduated High School in 1997 and went into the workforce into the service industry. Became a single mother in the year 2000 to a beautiful baby girl (Jazmyne). I worked several customer service jobs along the way to make a good life for my daughter. Met the love of my life (Wayne), a little later in life. We have 6 Children and 4 Grandchildren (So Far),between the 2 of us, and looking forward to more.

Most of my time is spent at our Rec Hall here in town but I love to rockhound and love to go for drives in my free time.

I’m a Republican with an open mind who just wants what’s best for everyone.

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town?

I believe one of our top issues lies with wanting our little town to grow. Some of the people I’ve talked with don’t want a growth change and others do want it. I believe that if we don’t have growth, then eventually our town will die. Businesses can’t survive without people and money. No businesses = No Jobs. We need growth to survive and I for one want our town to Flourish.

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget?

Unfortunately with limited budgets, that means not everyone will be happy. But priorities exist for a reason.

1: Public Safety - Maintaining Essentials - Police - Fire - Ambulance

2: Water - Sewer - Power..Utilities are a must.

These would be top of my list; then I would look into research in cost-cutting or revenue enhancing tactics while also looking into Basic Infrastructure - focusing on town repairs and ways to fix problem areas.

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop?

I believe Government transparency doesn’t happen to the extent everyone wishes it to be but I also believe the public should be aware of anything having to do with them as long as it doesn’t cause a panic. There are many ways to get the word out to the public of issues warranted. Radio - Newspapers - Social Media & of course word of mouth. I think if we work together then everyone can be involved one way or another and keep our town great.

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

My husband and I own businesses in this town and we don’t always do what’s right for us or our business. We make sure our customers are happy and taken care of. I plan on keeping that way of thinking and will put my constituents and their needs first no matter what.

Karen Scott

Bio 

I was born on Long Island, in New York, and lived there until the age of 7. My family and I then moved to Northern California. After graduating high school, I stayed there for another 11 years. I then moved to the Boise, Idaho area, and lived there until 2023, when my family and I moved to Basin. I have worked in restaurants, medical facilities, and automotive dealerships, to include heavy equipment and semi trucks.

My husband is retired from the military, after 24 years of service, and we have 1 daughter. Our daughter graduated from Riverside in 2025, and will be starting college in August. We enjoy the outdoors, road tripping, and spending time with friends and family. Our family also includes 1 horse, 2 bunnies and 7 chickens.

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town?

Living in Basin for only 3 years, I am not as familiar with the past and current priorities of the town. That gives me more of a non-bias view, and no favoritism to any one need. I look forward to working with the current council members and learning more about the history of Basin.

What is your stance on government transparency, including public notices, open meetings, public records, and communication with the press?

I feel transparency between government and the people is important. Personally, I may not always like the truth or the facts, but I can then figure out how to process it, as long as I know it is truthful. Public meeting notes should be accessible via a website, or media publications.

How do you plan to weigh decisions that could benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that benefit the town overall?

I would love to see a few more businesses and activities in town, for residents to enjoy. Being the county seat, I would love to see Basin become a town people choose to visit, not just drive through.

Nicholas Unruh 

Bio 

I was born and raised in Big Horn County, living 34 years in Otto and Basin. I left to seek higher education studying automotive repair and eventually transitioning to study accountancy. I ended my formal education with an MBA concentrating on strategic leadership from a private Methodist University. My education focused on building faith-based leaders that prioritize service. I returned to Basin in 2011 to work for Pepsi as an accountant. I am still building on my 15-year tenure with Admiral Beverage Corporation serving as their Controller where I am a key leader of their accounting department. I registered as a Republican, but I am an independent spirit with a deep ingrained set of values centered around respect, hard work, and self-reliance so Basin can count on my decisions being without consideration of popularity or political acceptance. I am confident my practical financial experience, common-sense leadership, commitment to local values, and a strong voice will help guide Basin to a brighter future.

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town? 

Top issues will always be a projection of perception. From my perspective, Basin is facing challenges from aging infrastructure, generating growth, supporting those that support us, and a long-term shrinking budget. These are not easy or quick fixes requiring persistence and will to drive change. I am running to be that persistence pressure driven by the collective desires while preserving our community against an uncertain future. So, I will always be open to other perspectives and drive change focused on our community needs. 

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget? 

The growth or reduction in revenue does not change the approach to successful budgeting. Most mistakenly view budgeting from strictly a cost cutting exercise but budgeting is a dichotomy exercise focusing on cutting cost and increasing revenue. 

Cost cutting should start with an evaluation of essentials, “must-haves,” and “nice-to-haves.” I would prioritize essential services such as police, fire, EMS, water, streets, and sanitation. As they are foundational to community that when neglected, they produce long-term exponentiable costs. So, you must ensure robust funding to maintain essential services. Next, I would prioritize the needs of the community. Sorting out “must-have” spending from “nice-to-have” spending. Cost cutting should follow in reverse with heaviest cuts of “nice-to-have” spending and almost never touching essentials. 

Growing revenue is also a duality with margin versus volume driving gross receipts. The optimum gross receipts happen with a balance of diversity of taxes/investments and rate setting. The passage of SF0069 last year reduced the rate/margin that municipalities could collect on property taxes in hopes of decreasing the cost of homeownership. It would be a mistake to increase the cost of living by other sources. Our towns will have to select actions centered around four options, cutting spending to match losses, raising taxes, boosting volume, or finding new revenue sources. I do not support new or increased taxes because it results in death by thousand cuts bleeding out your neighbors and resulting in a loss of volume. I prefer to strive towards boosting tax revenue with volume from economic growth. Economic growth comes from encouraging entrepreneurship, drawing in visitor spending, strengthening existing businesses, and developing community assets. 

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop? 

I am a firm believer you should not fear your neighbors’ review. When you betray your community or are deceptive, it undermines public trust and accountable decision-making. So public notices, open meetings, accessible public records, and clear communication with the press are not just procedural requirements—they are how residents stay informed and how elected officials remain answerable to the people they serve. So, I am offering to be an open book whenever possible and to never act in a capacity where I feel the need to look away from my neighbors. 

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

Accountants are expected to avoid bias, disclose conflicts, and make decisions that can withstand public review. I would apply that same standard in public service by asking whether the decision is fair, financially responsible, and in the best interest of the town as a whole for a good leader eats last knowing he/she is already blessed, and his/her portions should come only when the whole group rises to the table. 

Don Oryall

Bio

Hometown of Basin, Wy. Completed high school here in Basin. Joined the United States Navy. I completed several business classes while in the Navy. I spent 28 years working in the oilfield. I moved back to Basin 6 years ago. Since my return I have worked at Big Horn Redi-mix, Big Horn Coop until they closed. Currently I work at Pepsi in Worland.

The Party that I am affiliated with is Republican.

I have lived in Wyoming most of my life. With a short stint in Texas for 8 years. Most of my time in Wyo has been spent in the Big Horn Basin.

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town? 

One of our issues is the aging infrastructure. We have waterline and sew lines that have needed to be replace for a long time.

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget? 

To prioritize the projects that improve the towns infrastructure. 

 What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop? 

I believe that local and federal government so be 100% transparent. They should keep the general public informed of their decisions and how they reached them. 

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

I am able to keep personal business just that personal. I will make decisions based on information that is given to me.

Michael Tanner

Bio

Hello, my name is Michael Tanner, I’ve held quite a few different licenses over the years; from real estate to life insurance sales, I even got a certificate for dealing blackjack. I went to technical school right out of high school for certification in network administration. I spent a fair amount of time working with cousins and uncles in their construction companies whenever I was in between jobs in the technical or sales industry. Regarding party affiliation I’m a registered Republican. I’ve lived in Wyoming since August 21, 2023, and in Basin since about October 1, 2023. 

What do you believe are the top issues facing your town? 

I believe one of the top issues is our shrinking population. If this trend persists, future generations–including my kids–will struggle to find viable jobs and raise their own families here. As I see it, this issue leads to kids leaving the area as soon as they’re able which just exacerbates the problem but they don’t seem to have a tangible reason to stick around as there are very limited options for making a living that would support a family with the prices for property and everything else being what they are. 

With the changes in property taxes, the monies coming into the towns is making for tighter budgets. What would be your priorities with a potentially limited budget?

With tighter budgets from state tax changes, my priorities with a potentially limited budget would be safeguarding core services like public safety, roads, and utilities through careful stewardship and efficiency. I would advocate for partnerships with Big Horn County and pursuing state resources as much as possible as well as encouraging volunteer and church-based support for anything the government should be keeping their nose out of but still needs addressing. We have to live within our means as a town. 

What is your stance on government transparency including public notices, open meetings, public records and communication with the press? How do you hope to keep the public in the loop? 

When it comes to government transparency my stance is that everything should be available to be viewed by the public. The town council may not make decisions that I would make and I’m free to disagree with their conclusions but if I want something different then it’s on me to put forth the effort to do something about it, not just complain about it. I’d love to make a live stream available to the public so that those who can’t make the meetings can be involved and see what’s going on in real time; I’d also like to streamline the minutes and make it more readily accessible to the public. 

How do you plan to weigh decisions that will benefit your personal businesses or goals from those that will benefit the town overall?

My plan for weighing decisions that could benefit my personal business or goals vs those that will benefit the town overall is this: I will always put the town’s overall benefit first, guided by biblical principles of integrity and stewardship. I will disclose any potential conflicts and recuse myself as needed. My personal goals align with a thriving Basin: safe streets, strong families, and fiscal prudence that respects taxpayers.

For State Candidates, see: https://lovellchronicle-wy.newsmemory.com/?special=BHC+Election+Edition