Jackson, Wyoming - With excitement and great humility, Mayor Pro Tem Arne Jorgensen announced this week that he will seek election for the Mayor of Jackson.
“During my six years in office — and especially in the last two years — I have seen the real life stressors and pains of making ends meet in an increasingly more expensive region. I will continue to provide a thoughtful positive voice to our dialogues in a way that improves the place that we have been fortunate enough to call home for all community members — not just the loudest in the room.”
During his time on the council, Jorgensen has built a record of accomplishments including:
Housing: Affordable rental housing for our most vulnerable community members through federal funding via Low-income Housing Tax Credits, which — after significant work with the State of Wyoming and four attempts — was successful in 2021.
Environment: Creation of an Ecosystem Stewardship position. Also, partially addressing County water quality by opening up access to failing systems adjoining Jackson’s wastewater service area, allocating limited existing capacity to address short term water quality issues.
Budgeting: Increasing transparency and implementing strategic budget review processes, including data-backed five year projections and focusing on achieving long term stability.
In his Mayoral announcement, Jorgensen has highlighted the urgency of addressing growth and inequity. ”We are at a tipping point between becoming a resort only in place of a community first. We should view our discussions through this lens and be sure that we are looking to reinforce a community of people while respecting place.”
Looking ahead 5 to 8 years, Jorgensen envisions a community that has fully embraced our full community and our responsibility as stewards of this landscape.
Prior to running for office, Jorgensen has been an architect for over 30 years and played a key role in the formation of our formal community housing efforts, serving on the Housing Trust’s founding board. “This experience has reinforced my strong focus on housing issues and the need to celebrate the critical positive benefit of our affordable housing owners and renters in our community,” Jorgensen says. Jorgensen also has a keen understanding of Jackson’s relationship with Wyoming after 20 years serving on the Wyoming Community Foundation Board and 12 years on the Wyoming State Board of Architects and Landscape Architects.
For more information on the Arne for Jackson Mayor campaign, please reach out to Arne Jorgensen at (307) 690-2269.