American politician
Chris Rothfuss
(born October 21, 1972) is an American politician serving as a
Democratic
member of the
Wyoming Senate
, representing the 9th District, which is based in
Albany County
, since 2011.
Early life and education
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Rothfuss was born in
Ann Arbor
, and moved with his family to
Marquette, Michigan
, in 1976, and finally settled in
Casper, Wyoming
, in 1985. He attended
Natrona County High School
, where he graduated in 1990. Rothfuss received his PhD in Chemical Engineering and MS in Applied Physics from the
University of Washington
; and his MS in Chemical Engineering and BA in International Studies from the
University of Wyoming
where he competed as a member and captain of the Cowboy debate team.
Following graduation, he took a position as a Science and Technology Diplomacy Fellow with the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and then joined the
United States Department of State
, where he was the U.S. lead for nanotechnology foreign policy, and delegate to the
UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
. He worked as a chemical engineer on enhanced oil recovery projects around the world.
[
citation needed
]
Since his family moved back to
Wyoming
, he began teaching courses in political science, international studies, and nanotechnology at the
University of Wyoming
. He is also a Visiting Assistant Professor for the Honors College, an Adjunct Professor of International Studies, and the Director of the UW Summer High School Institute.
He now lives in Laramie with his wife, Dr. Heather Rothfuss, and their 4 children.
State Senate
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Dr. Rothfuss has been the Senate Minority Leader of the Wyoming Legislature since 2013. First elected to the Wyoming State Senate in 2010, he represents Senate District 9 in
Laramie, Wyoming
. The senator also co-chairs the Wyoming Blockchain Select Committee and serves as the ranking member of the Education Committee, the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee, the Management Council, and numerous other task forces.
In 2010, Rothfuss ran to succeed State Senator
Mike Massie
. He defeated Jodi Guerin in the
Democratic
primary with 61% of the vote, and was elected without opposition in the general election.
He ran for re-election to the Wyoming State Senate to represent District 9. He won in the general election on November 6, 2018 with 96.6% of the vote. His current term ends on January 2, 2023.
While serving in the Senate, Rothfuss joined with
Republican
State Senator
Hank Coe
to sponsor legislation that would require "every Wyoming high school student to attend school through the 12th grade or until their 18th birthday, unless a parent agreed otherwise", which was prompted by the revelation that, although Wyoming spends nearly $16,000 per student, it has a low graduation rate.
[1]
Additionally, Rothfuss suggested amending the
Hathaway scholarship
restrictions to "allow
University of Wyoming
summer school students to use the fund to pay for 3 credit hour classes."
[2]
For the 2013?2014 legislative term, Rothfuss was selected by
Democrats
in the Senate to serve as the Senate Minority Leader.
Key legislation
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Wyoming Stable Token Act
During the 2022 Budget Session, Rothfuss and state senator
Tara Nethercott
, along with state representatives
Mike Yin
and
Jared Olsen
introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation titled the “Wyoming Stable Token Act".
[3]
The bill would allow Wyoming treasurer Curtis Meier Jr. to create a state stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. A Wyoming stable token is a virtual currency representative of and redeemable for a United States dollar held in trust by the state of Wyoming. Components of the act included rulemaking, report requirements, creating an oversight committee, providing for monitoring, as well as independent auditing.
DAO law
The Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology introduced SF0038, which passed on April 21, 2021.
Known as the Wyoming Decentralized Autonomous Organization Supplement, the bill made Wyoming the first state to clarify the legal status of decentralized autonomous organizations by allowing Wyoming to recognize DAOs as limited liability corporations.
[4]
2008 United States Senate campaign
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In
2008
, Rothfuss announced that he would challenge two-term
Republican
Senator
Mike Enzi
. He defeated Al Hamburg in the
Democratic
primary with 62% of the vote. In
the general election
, however, Enzi defeated Rothfuss, receiving 76% of the vote to Rothfuss's 24%.
Electoral record
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]
2008
2010
2014
2018
2022
References
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External links
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