Joel Highsmith

Introduction

Joel Highsmith is the outgoing mayor of Shoshoni, Wyoming — a small Fremont County town where he chose not to seek reelection in November 2026 — who was cited for unlawful contact, a misdemeanor, after an Election Day confrontation with mayoral candidate and town council member Jordan Whitener at Shoshoni Town Hall on November 3, 2026. The citation from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office capped a dispute that began with an electioneering complaint near the town’s polling place and escalated, by the candidates’ sharply conflicting accounts, into physical contact between the two men. Highsmith denies knowingly touching Whitener, is contesting the citation in court, and has publicly apologized for how the episode reflected on the town. He is presumed innocent of the cited offense.

Background Information

Highsmith led a town small enough that its mayor, its police chief, and a mayoral candidate could all land on the same election ballot in personal races: on November 3, Highsmith himself was a candidate for a Shoshoni School Board seat, Police Chief Chris Konija was running for the other school board position, and Whitener was running for the mayor’s office Highsmith was vacating. None of the three won the position they sought; Ron Ankeny defeated Whitener for mayor. Highsmith’s mayoralty had also backed what he described as potentially one of Shoshoni’s most significant economic developments — the medical company Wyoming Cardiopulmonary establishing a presence in town, a project he tied to an anticipated $2.25 million in recapture revenue, infrastructure improvements, and new employment. That same project was the political fault line Whitener cited between them.

Whitener, a current town council member, had publicly opposed the Wyoming Cardiopulmonary project, saying he believed it could expose the town to financial and liability risks and that he had a responsibility as a council member to question those concerns. He also described the Election Day incident as part of what he called a larger pattern of aggressive and inappropriate behavior by Highsmith toward himself, fellow council members, and town employees — an accusation Highsmith denied, saying he did not know what Whitener was referring to.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Cited; contests the citation. Highsmith was cited for unlawful contact, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. A citation is an allegation of a violation, not a finding of guilt, and he intends to fight it in court.

The dispute began at the Shoshoni polling center, where Highsmith — citing concerns he said another citizen brought to him — photographed Whitener talking to an individual parked near the polling location and raised the possibility of electioneering with election officials. Whitener said he was simply speaking with a community member near a trailer across the street, that no campaign materials were involved, and that an election official later approached him about the allegations, prompting the disagreement that eventually moved to Town Hall. Highsmith said he left the polling center satisfied no electioneering was occurring: “I was convinced there was just a conversation going on outside,” he said, adding that he “never” definitively accused Whitener of violating election law. The Fremont County Clerk’s Office later said the matter never rose to the level that an election official felt a complaint needed to be filed with its office.

Shortly after 9 a.m., officers responded to a disturbance between the two men at Town Hall and separated them; the Shoshoni Police Department asked the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office to handle the matter because of potential conflicts of interest. According to Chief Konija, the mayor allegedly “made physical contact several times,” including alleged “chest-bumping,” during the confrontation. Whitener said Highsmith “acted aggressively and appeared intent on provoking a physical confrontation,” and that he did not retaliate because of their size and age difference. Highsmith disputed intentionally initiating contact: “They accused me of touching (Jordan). I have no… I didn’t know I did,” he said, suggesting any contact may have been accidental. “Maybe I belly-butted him.”

Sheriff’s deputies issued the unlawful contact citation after their investigation, which County 10 confirmed with Undersheriff Mike Hutchison. Highsmith challenged the circumstances of the citation, claiming Whitener specifically insisted deputies issue it and that the responding deputy had initially seemed reluctant. Highsmith said he did not “knowingly touch” Whitener: “My stomach might have touched him,” he told Oil City News.

Public Reaction and Consequences

For a town of Shoshoni’s size, the spectacle of its outgoing mayor cited by the sheriff’s office after a scuffle with a mayoral candidate at the polling place was the story of the week, carried by County 10 and Oil City News across central Wyoming. Both men were pressed into public statements, and both conceded the damage. “Disagreements are part of public service. Intimidation, aggression, threats, and attempts to provoke physical confrontations are not,” Whitener said. Highsmith went further, expressing regret over his own response: “(I) apologize to the public that something like this happened. I’m ashamed [this] happened — for him and me. Two wrongs don’t make a right.” He acknowledged his response to the confrontation could have been handled differently and said he should have disengaged and contacted law enforcement rather than participating in the argument.

The formal consequence is the misdemeanor citation itself, pending in court with a hearing expected in early December. Highsmith said he does not believe he did anything wrong but intends to contest it, and has said he will cooperate with mayor-elect Ankeny during the transition while the case is unresolved.

Current Status

Highsmith’s term as mayor is ending on the schedule he chose — he was not a mayoral candidate — and Ankeny takes over the office after defeating Whitener. The unlawful contact citation remains pending ahead of the December court hearing, where Highsmith will contest it. Whitener remains on the town council after losing the mayor’s race. No other disciplinary or legal action against Highsmith was reported, and the citation is the only pending charge arising from the incident.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Highsmith exits public office with his final weeks defined by a criminal citation, a public apology, and a court date — the closing frame on a mayoralty he had spent on economic-development fights like the Wyoming Cardiopulmonary project he still defends. A conviction on the misdemeanor count carries up to six months in jail and a $750 fine; an acquittal or dismissal would leave the apology and the altercation as the recorded end of his tenure. Either way, the episode handed his successor a fresh wound in a town small enough that the two men will remain neighbors, and it is Whitener’s account of a “larger pattern” of aggressive behavior — denied by Highsmith — that now sits in the public record beside his name.

Sources

• County 10, “Shoshoni mayor cited for unlawful contact following Election Day altercation with mayoral candidate,” November 6, 2026. source
• Oil City News, “Sheriff’s office cites Shoshoni mayor with unlawful contact after heated confrontation with mayoral candidate, police chief says,” November 6, 2026. source