Stephenson moves to Riverside mayoral seat

The Nov. 4 election brought some changes to the Riverside town council as Leroy Stephenson was elected mayor and Ed Golden was elected to the council.

Ron Bedwell is now an outgoing mayor, and Karran Bedwell did not win reelection to her council seat. Fred Lorenz was reelected to the council.

“I am happy that the majority of the voters thought I would do a good job as mayor and I appreciate their confidence,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson was originally slated to run unopposed, but Ron Bedwell entered the race after meeting the criteria for write-in votes during the primary election.

When asked if he thought their were any specific issues that separated himself and Bedwell, Stephenson replied, “Ron and I did not agree on every issue in the last four years, but we did both agree that Riverside needed to run smoothly and we were able to accomplish that.”

In general, Stephenson said most of the issues Riverside is currently dealing with are fairly simple and he foresees the council being able to act with “careful consideration and thoughtful discussion.”

Stephenson said he did not do anything special to celebrate the victory. “Lee Ann and I stayed up until the results were posted on the county website and then I went to bed so that I might get up at 4 a.m. and go hunting the next day.”

Reflecting on the state and national elections this mid-term year, Stephenson said, “I miss the days of informed voting we experienced in the past both in Wyoming and on the national level. We have had representation from both parties in the past that did the people of Wyoming proud.”

Golden said it felt good to win the seat on the town council as, He said he didn’t know people knew he was in Riverside. He followed by saying that the people of Riverside asked him to run, so he did. He said with 52 people in the town everybody gets their chance and this time it is his chance to serve.

As the theme for those elected to seats in Riverside and Encampment, Golden didn’t do anything elaborate to celebrate, although his wife bought him lunch the day after the election.

Golden said he sees the town as being pretty stable, and doesn’t think the loss of the Bedwells will disrupt the council or make them less effective for the town.

While voter participation was down nationwide. Golden noted there was strong participation locally and he said that is good to see.

As for the residents of Riverside, Golden said, “They are good people and they try to take care of one another.”

Lorenz said he feels like the residents of Riverside have placed their confidence in him and he feels good about that. He said that his experience on the council over the last four years was probably the reason he was reelected.

“I really don’t see in major changes in the direction of the town or the council,” Lorenz said when asked about the effect of the Bedwells leaving and the addition of Golden to the council.

Neither Ron or Karran Bedwell responded to the Saratoga Sun’s emails or phone calls.