Fremont County Commissioners redo library board vote

LANDER — The Fremont County Commissioners changed their tune on Tuesday, electing to remedy an illegal vote taken last month and recast library board appointments. 

This time around, without the use of secret, ranked-choice ballots, the results were different: candidate David Mossburg, who had served on the library board since the illegal vote, is out, replaced by candidate Julie Lefevre. 

Appointee Karen Wetzel, who was first selected via secret ballot, again passed muster with a public vote. 

“Since the concern has been raised and created a perception that we executed a void ballot on the library board, I move that we redo the vote in a way where each of us pick our top two verbally in open session,” County Commissioner Mike Jones said as he kicked off the conversation about recasting the votes. 

Commission Chair Larry Allen suggested that each commissioner verbally say their top two picks. Commissioner Ron Fabrizius voted against the motion; all other commissioners voted in favor.

Mossburg and Wetzel’s appointment came at the end of June. Both candidates were controversial; Mossburg largely for the fact that his wife is a currently serving board member, and Wetzel due to her history of public criticisms of the Fremont County Library System. 

During the first vote, the commissioners held public question-and-answer sessions with all candidates. Using an illegal secret ballot process, the county commissioners took pen and paper into a separate room and assigned points to each based on order of preference.

Then, after a lunch recess, the commissioners voted to affirm the results of that secret, ranked-choice ballot: 22 points for Wetzel, 22 points for Mossburg, 18 points for Shoutis, 15 points for Selley, 11 points for Lefevre, and seven points for Roseberry. Mossburg and Wetzel were appointed to the board. 

The Lander Journal questioned the process by which these candidates were selected, and asked Wyoming Press Association attorney Chris Wages to draft a letter to the county commission outlining the legal objections. 

Wyoming’s Public Meetings Act requires government bodies to make all decisions in open session – and the Supreme Court has ruled that when a vote is taken in violation of the statute the government body must not only vote again but reconsider the issue in public prior to the new vote.

State statute is also clear on the consequences of these kinds of violations: “Action taken at a meeting not in conformity with this act is null and void and not merely voidable.” That is to say, the questions about the legality of the appointments also call into question whether any actions taken by the library board between the appointment of Mossburg and Wetzel and Tuesday’s vote are legally valid.

During the meeting after receiving the attorney letter, commissioners initially doubled down on their secret ballot vote. They declined to take a new, legal vote, and instead simply signed their secret ballots and pledged to continue adding their signatures to future secret ballots. 

But on Tuesday, they did an about face, holding an entirely new public vote, one that came with a new outcome. 

A new vote, new board

Instead of the Mossburg-Wetzel duo that came as a result of the weighted, ranked-choice-style vote, Wetzel and Lefevre were appointed. It came as somewhat of a surprise; under the secret ballot vote, the third-place point-getter was candidate Cady Shoutis. 

During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioner and library board liaison Jones made a motion for commissioners to take a new vote, asking that each county official voice their top two picks. Commissioner Clarence Thomas voted for Wetzel first, Lefevre second; Jones elected Cady Shoutis first, Lefevre second; Ron Fabrizius voted for Wetzel first, and Mossburg second; Jennifer (McCarty) Wilson selected Wetzel first, and candidate Molly Selley second; and chair Larry Allen chose Wetzel first, and Selley second. 

Wetzel received the most votes, while Selley and Lefevre tied for second. When asked to break that tie, Thomas and Jones selected Lefevre, Wilson selected Selley, Allen selected Lefevre, and Fabrizius abstained. Jones made a motion to appoint Wetzel and Lefevre to the board, which passed without discussion by a 4-1 with Fabrizius voting against. 

The new votes did not reflect the prior weighted ballots. 

In the previous vote, Thomas’ top two picks were Mossburg and Wetzel; Fabrizius’ were Mossburg and Wetzel; Jones’ were Mossburg and Shoutis; Wilson’s were Shoutis and Selley; Allen’s were Wetzel and Shoutis. Shoutis, who received the most points after Mossburg and Wetzel in the initial vote, was selected as an alternate at that time. 

It’s unclear how this may impact several library board initiatives. At its last meeting, the prior library board with David Mossburg seated voted to revoke affiliation with the American Library Association, which started a 45-day public comment period. 

“Thank you to the county commissioners for their trust in my ability to serve on the board of the Fremont County Library System. This took me by surprise, and I’m still wrapping my head around the chain of events that led to my appointment. I am committed to putting the rights of Fremont County residents to a free, unbiased, comprehensive library system above all personal motives. I love our libraries and will do my best to serve them and their patrons,” Lefevre said.

This story was published on Oct. 22, 2025.