Mark Gordon (born March 14, 1957) is an American politician serving as the 33rd governor of Wyoming since January 7, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as state treasurer; then-governor Matt Mead appointed him to that position on October 26, 2012, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Joseph Meyer.
Early life and education
Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Catherine (née Andrews) and Crawford Gordon. Gordon’s father grew up on Drumlin Farm, in Lincoln, Massachusetts. His parents married on October 27, 1945, at the First Unitarian Church of Kennebunk, Maine, before settling at their ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming, in 1947.[1]
In the primary, Gordon garnered the endorsements of Wyoming's two most prominent statewide newspapers, The Casper Star-Tribune[7] and the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.[8] Though polls and the financial advantage rested with Gordon in the primary campaign, he lost the nomination to Lummis.[9]
Treasurer of Wyoming
Gordon was Treasurer of Wyoming from 2012 to 2019. He was sworn in as treasurer on November 1, 2012, by Wyoming Supreme Court Justice William Hill,[10][11] after being selected by Governor Matt Mead.[5][10]
Gordon was elected to a full term as treasurer in 2014.[10]
Gordon declined to run for Cynthia Lummis's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, the one he ran for in 2008, and instead ran for governor of Wyoming in 2018. He won the Republican primary on August 21 and the general election on November 6, defeating Democratic state representative Mary Throne.[12] Gordon was inaugurated on January 7, 2019.
Gordon was reelected to a second term against Democratic nominee Theresa Livingston in the general election.[13]
Tenure
Gordon was sworn in on January 7, 2019.
Amid a November 2020 spike in coronavirus cases, Gordon imposed some restrictions on indoor and outdoor public gatherings. He did not implement curfews, temporarily close any businesses or initially impose a statewide mask mandate.[14] Gordon and his wife, Jennie Gordon, contracted COVID-19 later in the month.[15] In December 2020, Gordon imposed a statewide mask mandate.[16] In February 2021, he extended that order until the end of the month.[17] On March 8, 2021, he announced that he would lift the mask mandate on March 16.[18] On March 16, the mask mandate was lifted.[19] As of March 30, Gordon has no plans to reinstate the mask mandate.[20]
In November 2020, Gordon proposed $500 million in cuts to the Wyoming budget to account for declining revenue from the fossil fuel industry (particularly coal mining), which is crucial to Wyoming's economy.[21] On April 2, 2021, he signed a budget passed by the Wyoming legislature that cut $430 million instead of the $500 million Gordon proposed,[22] due to improved budget forecasts for the year of 2021 and supplemental money from the American Rescue Plan Act[23] signed by President Biden. The budget Gordon signed decreases the amount cut to the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Health.
In 2021, a New York Times investigation revealed that Gordon had been targeted by hard-right conservatives, such as Susan Gore, the heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune. Gore funded secret operatives who targeted Gordon.[24] Part of this is due to Gordon's investment in renewable energy and policy on climate change, which led to a vote of no confidence by the state party.[25] Gordon has embraced wind energy as a part of Wyoming's economic exports, such as the developing Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project. [26]
As of 2022, Gordon often polls as one of the nation's most popular governors.[27][28]
On March 18, 2023, Gordon signed SF0109 into law, which banned abortion pills in Wyoming.[30]
Personal life
Gordon met his first wife, the former Sarah Hildreth Gilmore, at Middlebury College. They married on March 7, 1981, in the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield, Massachusetts, where her parents resided. In 1993, she died in an automobile accident.[31] They had two daughters.
In 1998 Gordon met his current wife, the former Jennie Muir Young, and they married in 2000. Together they own the Merlin Ranch east of Buffalo in Johnson County, Wyoming. In 2009, their ranch received the Society for Range Management Wyoming Section "Excellence in Rangeland Stewardship" award.[32]
On November 25, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gordon tested positive for the virus on the same day his office was to be reopened, after an employee of his had tested positive earlier. Gordon's office remained closed temporarily for deep-cleaning after his diagnosis.[33]
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