Governor Mark Gordon Signals He Will Not Be Seeking Re-election

Mark Gordon has gone rogue. He is bypassing the entire body of state legislators. He is bypassing every single WY citizen to whom he has an unmistakable fiduciary and constitutionally bound responsibility to. And he has every intention of circumventing WY law by slimily worming his way in and around every word of WY state statute and state constitutional provisions until he and his band of financial mavens find the most miniscule of legal loopholes to pry open and create, out of thin air, the solo-executive authority to purchase a boondoggle.

Clearly Mark Gordon will not be seeking re-election for 2022.

Gordon has announced that he intends to place a bid on a huge land parcel, in a mere two days, for a sudden July 3rd deadline dictated by debt-riddled Occidental Petroleum. This bid will be on 1,010,000 surface acres/4,000,000 mineral acres. The land traverses six counties in Utah, six counties in Wyoming and two counties in Colorado (map below).

EVERY WYOMING CITIZEN NEEDS TO CALL, EMAIL AND FAX THEIR OUTRAGE TO THE LIST OF ENTITIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS! POST AT THEIR TWITTER AND FACEBOOK PAGES! DO NOT LET UP! IT IS UP TO WY CITIZENS TO KILL THIS DEAL THROUGH PUBLIC INPUT! WY LAW ON PUBLIC MEETINGS IS NOT TO BE VIOLATED BECAUSE GORDON HAS AN OCCIDENTAL DEADLINE!

No one knows how much Gordon will bid, or, for that matter, if he hasn’t already attempted to bid on this boondoggle. Word is that it could be anywhere between seven-hundred million ($700,000,000) and one and half billion dollars ($1,500,000,000). Why does Gordon have his high hopes, and subsequent political future, pinned to this land grab? No one really knows. He has offered a list of potential uses, via his FAQ Page, that is so general in nature that it actually murks-up the waters of transparency and specificity. And there is no guarantee that his real intention for this land is even mentioned on that list. With the exception of a few favored legislators privy to the details and three groups of insiders literally bound to secrecy (#1, #2, #3), no one else in the state has a single specific detail on the deal.

Gordon is bypassing the entire body of state legislators:

In 2020 Budget Session legislators worked with the governor to draft a handful of bills. The most significant (and the only one that passed) was #SF138 Investment of State Funds – 2 that created a somewhat transparent and sequential public process to cautiously move towards a potential land deal.

Though #SF138 passed through the legislature, the Governor vetoed the enrolled act on Mar 26, 2020 – expressing his intention to move forward on the land deal without any legislative involvement or oversight.
The original version of his Occidental Land FAQ Page from mid-March (which has been altered by the Governor’s office twice now since it was originally posted – without any indicator by the governor that this has taken place) stated:
- Q: Is the State Legislature involved in this potential purchase?
  A: Yes, Senate File 138 and House Bill 249 both outline a process for the State to follow to evaluate the potential property. At this time, there are differences between the bills concerning the sources of funds the state could use to purchase the property and the possibility of bonding. Regardless of the outcome of the legislation, the Governor is committed to working with the legislature through this process.
In his Mar 28th Veto Gordon said he would “report to the legislature any progress made”.
The second version of his FAQ Page (which we discovered on May 18th) states:
- Q: Is the State Legislature involved in this potential purchase?
  A: The Governor is committed to continue to work with the Legislature through the process.
As of this post, there has not been a single official report to the Wyoming State Legislature made public from Governor Mark Gordon or the Office of State Land and Investments (OSLI).
As of this post, there has not been a single open public meeting by the State Land Investment Board that has focused on the Occidental land deal. There have been two Executive (closed door) meetings however (April 9th and June 4th).

Gordon is bypassing every single WY Citizen to whom he has an unmistakable fiduciary and constitutionally bound responsibility:

After Wyoming Citizens immediately began questioning the governor’s Feb 24th surprise announcement of a land deal that he never uttered once two weeks earlier in his Feb 10th 2020 State of the State Address, Gordon said he would post helpful information for Wyoming Citizens at his website.

Meanwhile, #SF138 – Investment of State Funds – 2 created the following provisions for the State Loan and Investment Board to comply with for public knowledge, engagement and input:
- (A) Make available to the public on its website the details of the proposed purchase including the locations of the assets, the purchase price, all funding sources for the purchase, the projected costs to manage the assets purchased and projected revenue streams from the assets purchased;
  (B) Establish an open public comment period to review the details of the proposed purchase, during which members of the public may submit written comments electronically, by mail or both;
  (C) During the comment period provided by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, hold at least one (1) informational public hearing within a geographic area in Wyoming that would be affected by the proposed purchase, notice of which shall be published one (1) time in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the hearing is to be held and in a newspaper of statewide circulation. At the hearing the board shall present the terms of the proposed purchase and take public testimony.
In Gordon’s Mar 26, 2020 Veto Letter for #SF138 he stated: “Lastly, I commit to honor all of the requirements for public comment and involvement outlined in the bill I am vetoing. My veto is not a means of circumventing those requirements, as they are entirely appropriate. Moreover, I believe the State Land Investment Board and my office can even exceed the amount of public involvement and comment called for in the bill.“
Circumvent is exactly what he did. Posted at Gordon’s FAQ Page is the following (emphasis added):
- Q: Why are Wyoming citizens just finding out about this potential sale now?
  A: Up until recently, there was only limited communication of general interest between Occidental and the State of Wyoming. These confidential preliminary discussions between the company and the State took place to determine if there was genuine mutual interest. Once there was a better idea of what was going to be offered and the timeline of what the parties would need to evaluate the property, the State and Occidental agreed that before going any further, the public should be notified. This potential sale is far from a done deal. The State has to make an independent determination of the value and income potential of the complete parcel. Once that is complete, and if the purchase is determined to be a good deal for the people of Wyoming, the State could proceed to actual negotiations. Should a deal be reached, the public will be informed of what the state is buying, the purchase price, and how the State plans to pay the purchase price.
- Q: What is the best way for the public to be informed and involved?
  A: The actual negotiations, should the process get that far, will understandably not be public. Citizens are encouraged to contact the Governor’s office with their initial comments about the concept of the sale. Should a final deal be reached, there will be public outreach to inform the citizens of Wyoming the details of the deal.
Blatantly reversing his own commitment to transparency and accountability, as well as public meeting law requirements, the only thing Gordon has offered to Wyoming Citizens parallels having dirt kicked in your face:
- A FAQ Page with a list of potential land uses that is so broad that it’s anyone’s guess what he actually wants the land for.
- An invite to contact him personally about a land purchase that we are not allowed to know what the hell it is actually for, or how much it will cost.
- The only information available (FAQ Page) for the public has been arbitrarily altered without any notification.
- A FAQ page that tells us we will only be notified or informed after a final deal has been made.
In keeping with his ‘word’ at his FAQ Page, this exclusive June 26 Wyofile article notified us all that he’s blazing forward come hell or high-water, with a token mention of a public meeting with a public comments opportunity scheduled for an unknown time before Occidental’s Deadline of July 3rd – now, just two days away.
As of this posting there is no mention of any meeting on any schedule or in any newspaper.

We will be posting more information later on this boondoggle. Meanwhile…

Governor Mark Gordon
307-777-7434; https://governor.wyo.gov/contact; https://twitter.com/GovernorGordon; https://www.facebook.com/governormarkgordon/;

WY Secretary of State Ed Buchanan
307-777-7378; Fax: 307.777.5339; SecOfState@wyo.gov; https://www.facebook.com/wyosos

WY State Treasurer Curt Meier, Jr.
307-777-7408; treasurer@wyo.gov;

WY State Auditor Kristi Racines
307-777-7831; Fax: (307) 777-6983 SAOAdmin@wyo.gov; https://www.facebook.com/Racines4Auditor/

WY Superintendent of Public Schools Jillian Balow
307-777-7675; Fax: (307) 777-6234; askthesuperintendent@wyo.gov;

Office of State Lands and Investments, State Loan and Investment Board
307-777-7331; slfmail@wyo.gov; Contact form at https://lands.wyo.gov/contact-us;

Chief Investment Officer Patrick Fleming
(307) 777-7408; sto-investment-team@wyo.gov

WY President of the Senate Drew Perkins
(307) 234-1274; Drew.Perkins@wyoleg.gov

WY Speaker of the House Steve Harshman
(307) 262-8075; Steve.Harshman@wyoleg.gov