There will be no more “Re-Petes.”

Rep. Pete Jorgensen, D-Jackson, announced this week that he will retire from the Wyoming Legislature at the end of his term this year.

The 75-year-old Teton County resident cited his age, the failure of the Legislature to take on any serious health care reform and the retirement of Gov. Dave Freudenthal as factors in his decision.

His announcement came after the close of the Cheyenne budget session Friday, the time many who are up for re-election choose to say whether they again will seek a seat guiding the Equality State. This week, Rep. Jim Roscoe, a Democrat, said he would run, while Rep. Keith Gingery and Sen. Grant Larson, both Republicans, said they are still deciding.

Jorgensen said eight years has been enough.

“I’m superannuated,” he said, copping a phrase he heard from retired U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson.

Jorgensen said he does not have any health problems but said his age prevents him from fully doing his job.

“You just don’t work as hard, you’re not digging into things like you should,” he said.

Besides his age, Jorgensen said he has been frustrated by the lack of progress by the Legislature to advance any kind of meaningful health care reform.

“Left to itself, leadership in Wyoming is averse to anything other than market solutions to health care,” he said. “It is obvious to all who have dealt with the system that the terms consumer-driven and market competition do not apply to those uninsured or underinsured in Wyoming.”

Jorgensen, a member of the Democratic National Committee, said he now looks to the national level for some kind of mandate that will force Wyoming to implement some type of reform.

“That’s where the agenda is,” he said, referring to the U.S. Congress.

Freudenthal’s announcement earlier this month that he will not seek another term as governor was another factor in Jorgensen’s decision.

Jorgensen said he considered Freudenthal a friend as well as an ally in state government.

Roscoe, 59 and elected two years ago, said he would again seek the seat representing Wilson, Alpine and Sublette County. A Democrat, he said he now has the experience he needs to accomplish some goals.

“I think after two years I can be effective,” he said. “I have some issues I’d like to follow up on.”

In his first year, Roscoe saw passage of a law that put a tax on helium that energy companies extract in Wyoming. This year he lost a battle to clarify a gas tax question that he said would have generated more than $1 million for Sublette County and saved the state a potential $21 million in losses.

He also has backed bills that have used a variety of public and private funds on conservation and wildlife habitat work around Sublette county gas fields. This year the projects covered 13,000 acres.

“There’s going to be a big change in Cheyenne,” Roscoe said of the departure of Freudenthal and others. “Wyoming is struggling to find a balance,” he said. “I just feel with two years’ experience I [can] be of some value working toward that balance.”

He said he expects to be challenged by Bill Winney, a Bondurant resident who ran in the 2008 Republican primary for U.S. House.

Larson, 76, said he often sours after spending time in Cheyenne and will decide only after taking a short break. At issue is who has an interest in his position and “how I feel after getting away from it for a while,” he said

“I don’t want to make a mistake,” he said. “People deserve to know very soon.”

The Republican county convention will be March 22 and that’s his deadline, he said.

“I will have made up my mind and will be ready to announce then,” he said.

Gingery said he is still mulling whether he will run for re-election. He is 40.

“I’m leaning towards it, but I’m not sure,” he said Tuesday.

Gingery said he needed to consult with his family before making a decision.

“It’s hard to be away for eight weeks,” he said.

Gingery said he likely will make a decision by the Republican convention. If he decides to run again and is re-elected, Gingery could be the elder statesmen of Jackson. With Jorgensen’s announcement and Larson’s future up in the air, Gingery could have a much different role.

“I’ll have to be the resident curmudgeon,” he said.