Wyoming

Interviewing Gov. Dave

By Brodie Farquhar, 9-30-10

	Still the governor, not yet divorced. Photo courtesy of Wyoming Governor's office.

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal is a challenging interview subject.

Don’t get me wrong – it is usually fun to talk to Gov. Dave because he enjoys give-and-take bantering with reporters. And reporters can always rely on him for great quotes – jokes and puns and pithy observations. But he doesn’t give away much, either.

He generally has a clear idea of what he wants to accomplish in an interview, and when he’s done, that’s pretty much it.

Take last week, when I talked to him about the migration of electric utilities from coal to natural gas. Really interesting (at least to me) conversation.

I asked him if he had any energy advice for the man (Republican Matt Mead) or woman (Democrat Leslie Peterson), who will replace him as governor in January.

“I won’t give advice,” said the governor. “I just hope they’ll do what’s right and then hang on for a heck of a ride.” If the next governor asks for Freudenthal’s advice, he’ll freely give it then. “We all have to make our own mistakes,” he added.

At 12:01 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2011, said Freudenthal, one of those two candidates “will be hugely relieved on Inauguration Day. Then he was deliberately silent for a few moments, leaving it unclear as to whether the winner or loser of the election would be feeling relieved or anxious.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to be doing next year,” he said. “Right now I’m just trying to concentrate on doing my job. I do know that I’ll be a real go-getter – at 4:30 p.m. every day, I’ll go get my wife.” Judge Nancy Freudenthal was appointed to the district court bench last year by President Barak Obama.

From prior conversations, it is pretty clear the current First Lady isn’t going to tolerate her husband goofing off much or rehabilitating yet another sheep wagon. “She expects me to work!,” he chuckled.

As for his legacy after eight years, “I’m not worrying about it,” he said. As a young lawyer and economist, Freudenthal had a ring-side seat on the administration of Gov. Ed Hershler – a 12-year term that saw big changes in state law, funding and government.

“Now if you mention his name, young people wonder if you’re talking about Hershey’s chocolate,” he mused.

Freudenthal said he’s glad he got through his two terms “without a divorce.”

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