NEWS


ALPINE, Wyo. - In a small town, political influence does not always arrive through expensive television commercials or glossy campaign mailers. Sometimes, it arrives in an email on the morning voters go to the polls.

On Aug. 18, the day of Alpine's municipal primary election, Alpine Education Foundation Chairman Meredith Leonard sent a message addressed to "Mama Grizzlies."

The message identified three candidates whom Leonard said had been "explicit in their positive support" of Wyoming Classical Academy-Alpine and of "creating a family-friendly Alpine." Those candidates were Jeremy Larsen for mayor and Ken Harris and Amy Wierda for Alpine Town Council.

Email recipients who did not live within town limits were asked to pass the information along to people who could vote in Alpine. All three candidates promoted in the message advanced through the primary. Larsen received 150 votes in the mayoral contest, followed by William Saks with 90, and Isaac Aznoe with 20.

In the Town Council race, Harris received 139 votes and Wierda received 112. Troy Johnson received 89, Michael McElroy 71, and Marlene O'Leary 49. Voters could select two council candidates.

A Complaint - Not a Finding

William Saks subsequently filed a Wyoming Election Code complaint alleging that the foundation's election-morning message constituted improper election assistance or electioneering by an organization. He also submitted a separate referral to the Internal Revenue Service concerning the foundation's claimed tax-exempt status.

Those filings are allegations. Neither the Wyoming Secretary of State nor the IRS has issued a finding that the foundation, Leonard, or any candidate violated the law. The Wyoming Secretary of State's Office has confirmed, however, that it is reviewing Saks' complaint.

"Our office is currently reviewing the Wyoming Election Code complaint filed by William J. Saks, which was received by our office," Joe Rubino, the office's chief policy officer and general counsel, told Open Range Record. "Our office takes all election code complaints very seriously, and this will be reviewed in compliance with Wyoming law." The office did not provide a timeline for its review or say whether the complaint would be referred to another agency.

Wyoming law restricts organizations from providing certain contributions or election assistance directly to candidates or their campaigns. How that provision applies to this message - and whether coordination or another legally required element can be established - is now a question for election officials, not a conclusion Open Range Record can make.

Federal law presents a separate question. The IRS states that organizations recognized under Section 501(c)(3) are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating or intervening in a political campaign for or against a candidate for public office. A nonprofit can encourage people to vote. According to IRS guidance, however, those efforts must be neutral and nonpartisan.

The Aug. 18 message did not simply remind recipients to vote. It named three candidates and highlighted their support for the charter school and a "family-friendly Alpine." Whether the message was legally attributable to the foundation, and whether it violated federal tax rules are matters for the IRS to determine.

The School and Town Hall

This story is not about whether Alpine should have a charter school. It is about the people and organizations seeking influence over both the school and Alpine's municipal government - and whether a nonprofit organization's identity and communications network were used to help elect favored candidates.

Jeremy Larsen is not merely a town candidate who happens to support the school. He is a sitting Alpine councilman, and the state charter-school application submitted in 2024 listed him as part of the school's applicant team. Under "future role," the application identified Larsen for the school's "governing board."

The application said most members of the applicant team were expected to become the school's initial governing board. That matters because the school project has required decisions and cooperation from the Town of Alpine.

The charter application identified town-owned property as the school's preferred location and discussed the possibility of a nominally priced, long-term ground lease. The Town later entered into a lease with the Alpine Education Foundation for property associated with the charter-school project.

Amy Wierda also holds positions on both sides of the school-and-town relationship. She currently serves on the Alpine Town Council and is involved in the governing board of Wyoming Classical Academy-Alpine. She is not identified as a member of the Alpine Education Foundation board. An initial letter associated with the complaint incorrectly described her as such, and that statement was later corrected.

Ken Harris was promoted in the same election-morning message as a candidate supportive of the school. Open Range Record has not found documentation establishing that he holds a formal governing position with the school or foundation.

The charter school is not the only place where Larsen's municipal duties have overlapped with an outside organization. Official Town records show Larsen also serving on Alpine's Travel & Tourism Board. At its May 7, 2026 meeting, Larsen called the meeting to order but recused himself when the board considered a $10,000 funding request from Alpine Trails and Pathways, an organization with which he has held a leadership role. The remaining board members approved the funding.

That recusal belongs in the record as it shows that an overlapping role was acknowledged in that instance. It also reinforces the larger question facing Alpine voters: When a mayor or council member serves on multiple organizations seeking public money or Town action, are the relationships consistently disclosed, and are recusals handled every time those interests intersect?

These distinctions and the larger pattern deserve consideration. A charter-school organization relies upon Town Hall for matters involving property, permits, infrastructure, and other municipal decisions. The chairman of a foundation involved in that project then uses the foundation's identity to identify preferred candidates for mayor and Town Council on Election Day. Two of those candidates already held documented roles within both town government and the charter-school effort.

That does not prove the candidates requested, approved, or even knew about Leonard's message. No evidence reviewed by Open Range Record establishes that Larsen, Wierda, or Harris coordinated the email with Leonard. However, it does raise questions that the candidates and the organizations involved should answer publicly.

Did any candidate know the message was going to be sent? Did any candidate provide information, names, or voter contacts? Was a foundation mailing list used? Did the foundation's board authorize the communication? And what safeguards exist when the same people participate in organizations that regularly seek decisions from Town Hall?

Requests for Answers

The Open Range Record sent written requests for comment to five people connected to the matter: Alpine Education Foundation Chairman Meredith Leonard, Wyoming Classical Academy-Alpine Headmaster Alex Oliver, mayoral candidate Jeremy Larsen, and Town Council candidates Amy Wierda and Ken Harris.

None responded by the stated deadlines. Larsen and Wierda were each given two opportunities to respond, including a final deadline of 5 p.m. MDT Tuesday, Sept. 8, but neither provided a response.

The Wyoming Secretary of State's Office was the only party to respond. The office confirmed that it is reviewing the Wyoming Election Code complaint filed by William J. Saks.

We will update this story if any of the parties provide a response after publication.

Silence does not prove wrongdoing.

When candidates seek control of a public body, and when organizations connected to those candidates depend upon that same public body for land, permits, funding or other official decisions, the silence leaves voters to examine those relationships for themselves. The central question is not whether Leonard and the candidates shared the same political viewpoint. As private citizens, they were entitled to do so.

The question is whether the name, authority, mailing list, or other resources of a nonprofit organization were used to influence who would hold power in Alpine Town Hall - and whether the candidates who benefited from that message knew anything about it.

Alpine voters should ask an even broader question.

How much separation should exist between the people governing the Town and the boards, foundations, and organizations that regularly need something from the Town? That question does not apply only to the charter school. It applies whenever a mayor or council member also holds a position with a nonprofit, school board, tourism board, economic-development organization, or any other entity that seeks funding, property, permits, contracts, or favorable decisions from Town Hall.

Alpine voters should look beyond campaign promises and examine the full network of board memberships, organizational positions and financial relationships held by every candidate for mayor and Town Council.

Who will these candidates be accountable to after the election? Who may come before them asking for Town money, property or official action? When those relationships collide, who will protect the taxpayers - and will Alpine residents come first?

The Secretary of State's Office is reviewing the election complaint.