For the republic

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) have officially declared Carbon County a “Constitutional Republic County”. The declaration came via a resolution passed on January 18 which had been drafted by Commissioner Byron Barkhurst.

While the resolution passed unanimously, discussion among the commissioners appeared to express concern about potential ramifications in the future.

Barkhurst, having drafted the resolution, was given the opportunity by Chairman John Johnson to provide background on the document. Barkhurst said he had presented the resolution to Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis a month prior for her review. He further explained the catalyst for it came following a conversation with a Platte Valley constituent in Fall 2021.

“As I pondered it, I felt led to go ahead and present this to the board. For some context, one of the things that I’ve felt is an important responsibility that’s been placed on my shoulders is to work hard for the county, to work hard for the citizens and to work hard at keeping their freedoms and liberties intact,” said Barkhurst. “When we listen to some of our federal leadership and, at times, some of our state leadership it’s very concerning to me when they start using words of autocracies and talking about how democracies are not going to function in the future. In light of that Mr. Chairman, I’d like to present this resolution to the board to kind of memorialize this statement of Carbon County defending the rights of their citizens to be free and have those liberties.”

Barkhurst did not clarify what autocratic language he was referencing. Earlier this month an article from The Guardian reported a Canadian political science professor urged his country to prepare for the “collapse of American democracy” by 2025 (“US could be under rightwing dictator by 2030, Canadian professor warns”).

After Barkhurst read the resolution in its entirety, Commissioner John Espy asked if the resolution gave the county any teeth since both the sheriff and the county attorney were elected officials. Though the two departments regularly give updates to the county commissioners, they are not under the purview of the body, which is itself an extension of the state government.

“I appreciate your point. It’s well taken and I understand that it’s kind of a bold statement to make. I guess, from where I sit in this seat, I want it known to the citizens of Carbon County that when these things come down that clearly violate their constitutionally protected rights that I’m not going to be one to trespass on that,” Barkhurst said. “I’m willing to stand and fight, put my head on a block, when those things come down.”

Espy further clarified his question for Mayfield-Davis, who joined the meeting via phone, asking if the resolution was “boxing in” her department and that of Sheriff Archie Roybal.

“I would say the commissioners are saying you are not going to do anything to infringe upon citizens’ constitutional rights,” said Mayfield-Davis. “If something happened and the sheriff had to enforce something, legally enforce something, I don’t think this prevents him from following his statutory obligations and duties.” 

Johnson followed Espy’s line of discussion and asked the county attorney if the resolution would, similarly, box in the county commissioners regarding their statutorily obligated duties.

“I think it’s hard to say that without knowing how those can change,” Mayfield-Davis said. “I think if the state government offers some kind of executive order that is questionably an infringement on constitutional rights but it’s one of your obligations to carry it out under the statute, I think that could put you in a difficult position.” 

As discussion continued, it appeared part of the reasoning behind the resolution was related to state and federal mandates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

“The most frustrating thing that I’ve experienced in my adolescent tenure on this board was when the power was taken away from us to make the decisions of what was right for Carbon County. So, that’s been a lot of the driving force behind this for me, personally,” said Barkhurst. “I understand that it doesn’t change some of those health directives that we have in statute but it’s more of a statement that ‘Hey, I want to exercise my rights and I want to try to help be the voice for our citizens at a local level’ because if we don’t exercise them we might lose them.”

Commissioner Sue Jones also commented on the resolution, stating there needed to be a return to civics in the United States and a better understanding of the state and federal constitutions.

“It’s still about ‘We the People’ and when ‘We the People’ don’t vote and when ‘We the People’ don’t run and when ‘We the People’ don’t participate and when we have local boards that are short members and lob something up and saying ‘I demand my rights. I want my rights’, I get it. You also have to participate in that process,” said Jones. “There are clearly laws that we can’t tell the federal government, the state government, as county commissioners, we will not do. We experienced that. The best we can do is participate in the process to change those laws if they’re noxious to us as citizens and as a governing body.”

Resolution 2022-04, “Declaring Carbon County Wyoming As A Constitutional Republic County” passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on February 1 at the Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex in Rawlins.