Supreme Court Not Hurrying In Its Response To Eligibility

In Fact, May Send AG To District Court

by Johnny Gunn

There is a better than even chance that we won't know who is or isn't eligible to hold a legislative seat in Carson City before we go to the polls in September to begin the process of electing some. At the request of Secretary of State Dean Heller, the Attorney General, Brian Sandoval has requested the Supreme Court rule on his opinion that state workers are not eligible.

At the first hearing before the state's highest court, it seemed to some that the justices were more concerned with whether or not the subject should first have been brought before a District Court. Sandoval's opinion is just one of many that have been handed down over the years, some saying state employees can serve, some saying, as does the current one, that no, government workers cannot serve.

At this writing, several sitting members of Nevada's legislature are state employees, and there are others who work for local governments, and many have filed to retain their seats. This mish-mash comes about because of conflicting views that have never been addressed past an AG's opinion. Sandoval said it's his opinion the only way this can be answered with any kind of finality is for the Supreme Court to rule one way or the other.

The question comes about because of a clause in the state's constitution dealing with the separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. For a person to be employed in the executive, that is, state government, branch, and then serve in the legislative branch, is a violation of the constitution, according to Sandoval.

Others aren't quite as positive of that, including the legislature itself, acting as the defendant in the current case before the court.

In Nevada, the legislature is made up of part time assembly persons and part time senators, most holding full time employment outside the halls of state lawmaking. Many say to rule state workers ineligible is to discriminate. Others say, the legislature is the one responsible for saying who can or cannot serve, that it shouldn't be the court's nor the AG's function.

Sandoval insists the legislature and the rest of the state need a ruling by the state's highest authority.

What happens to those running for reelection? According to both Sandoval and Heller, they aren't doing anything illegal, any monies they've collected are within the jurisdiction of the law, and until a definitive ruling is handed down, nothing else can be discussed.

Concerning the money, if say candidate A collects $50,000 for his campaign, and the court rules he is not eligible to serve, he will be expected to return what hasn't already been spent. Some have said this is why the Supreme Court should rule immediately. That if they don't, all that will be happening is that many more court dates may be in store for those involved.

To make his point, one person at the hearing said, "Does this mean the Secretary of State could also run for the Assembly?"

Let's not go there.

•••

The Road To A Political Seat

Filled With Known Names

Only A Few Newcomers To The Game

by Johnny Gunn

Supreme Court Races

Supreme Court seats are non-partisan, so anytime more than two people file for an open seat, there would be a primary. The two with the most votes in the primary would then move on to face each other in the general election.

Seat A:

* Cynthia Steel

* Don Ashworth

* James Hardesty

* Kevin Mirch

Seat E:

* Doug Smith

* John Mason

* Ron Parraguirre

* Lori Lipman Brown

Seat F:

* Michael Douglas, incumbent

* Joel Hansen

Justices Nancy A. Becker, Mark Gibbons, A. William Maupin, and Robert E. Rose are not up for reelection during this cycle.

The race for Seat E, that being vacated by Justice Agosti, is being called the "million dollar" seat by some running for the office. It's expected that more money will be funneled into that campaign than ever before spent for a Supreme Court seat. Lipman Brown, a former state Senator says she has no intention of getting into a spending match. She's simply going to offer integrity and background. "I won't accept any contribution of more than $100 per contributor," she said.

Nevada Assembly

* Candidate has filed for election

#1, Clark County

* Brent Howard. Democrat

* Ricki Y. Barlow, Democrat

* Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Democrat

* Steven Saul, Democrat

* Douglas Opolka, Republican

* Bill Dolan. Republican

* Shane Byrne, Republican

* Ed Gobel, Republican

* Peggy Williams, IAP

#2, Clark County

* Mabey, Garn, Republican Incumbent

* Geoffrey Vanderpal, Democrat

#3. Clark County

* Pierce, Peggy, Democrat Incumbent

* Tonie Sison, Democrat

* Mel Kalagian, Democrat

* Brian Packer, Republican

* Clint Barker, IAP

#4, Clark County

* Justin Doucette. Republican

* Richard McArthur, Republican

* Francis Allen, Republican

* Mark Andrews, IAP

#5, Clark County

* Weber, Valerie, Republican Incumbent

* Kirk Kaplan, Democrat

* Kevin Kennedy, Democrat

#6, Clark County

* Williams, Wendell P. Democrat Incumbent

* Harvey Munford, Democrat

* Cornell Clark, Republican

* Charles Schneider, Libertarian

* Robert Clayne Petersen, IAP

#7, Clark County

* Arberry Jr., Morse, Democrat Incumbent

* Tracey Lewis, Democrat

* Gary Steven Seward, Sr. Republican

* Stan Vaughan, Independent

#8. Clark County

* Buckley, Barbara Democrat Incumbent

* Patricia Peacock, Republican

#9. Clark County

* Giunchigliani, Chris Democrat Incumbent

* Lewis Whitten, Democrat

* Lee Wayne Haynes, IAP

#10. Clark County

* Joseph Hogan, Democrat

* Sam Weitzel, Democrat

* Rex Wilhoite, Republican

* Glenn Brown, IAP

#11. Clark County

* McCleary, Bob Democrat Incumbent

* Doug Bache, Democrat

* David Adams, Republican

#12. Clark County

* Ohrenschall, Genie, Democrat Incumbent

* Brandon Casutt, Republican

#13. Clark County

* Christensen, Chad Republican Incumbent

* Rudy Durso, Republican

* Justin Jones, Democrat

* Debra Caren Payne-Dedmon, Libertarian

#14. Clark County

* Koivisto, Ellen, Democrat Incumbent

* Richard Gardner. Republican

* Steven "Capt. Truth" Dempsey, IAP

#15. Clark County

* McClain, Kathy, Democrat Incumbent

* Lou Toomin, Republican

* Bob Anderson, Republican

#16. Clark County

* Oceguera, John Democrat Incumbent

* Bob Spretnak, Republican

#17. Clark County

* Atkinson, Kelvin Democrat, Incumbent

* Angelo Carvalho, Republican

* David Gibbs, Republican

#18. Clark County

* Manendo, Mark Democrat Incumbent

* Kris Munn, Republican

* Drew Spangler, Republican

#19. Clark County

* Claborn, Jerry D. Democrat Incumbent

* Bradley Smith, Democrat

#20. Clark County

* Hardy, Joe Republican Incumbent

* Travis Chandler, Republican

#21. Clark County

* Robert Seale, Republican

* Joseph M. Pitts, Democrat

* Jesse Harris, IAP

#22. Clark County

* Tommy Holmgren, Republican

* Kathy Martin, Republican

* Scott A. Sibley, Republican

* Lynn Stewart, Republican

* Caren Levenson, Democrat

* Richard Young, Democrat

* Joshua Hansen, IAP

#23. Clark County

* Perkins, Richard, Democrat Incumbent

* Steven Grierson, Republican

#24. Washoe County

* Geddes, Jason Republican Incumbent

* Brooks Holcomb, Republican

* David C. Love, Democrat

* Patrick Lantis, IAP

#25. Washoe County

* Heidi Seevers Gansert. Republican

* Tierney Cahill, Republican

* Robin Levy, Republican

* Andrew Heilman, Democrat

* Dan Meyer, Democrat

* Rod Petzak, Democrat

#26. Washoe County

* Angle, Sharron, Republican Incumbent

* Regis Leiss, Democrat

* Paul Mozen, Democrat

* Greg Miller, IAP

* Paul Juntunen, Green

#27. Washoe County

* Leslie, Sheila Democrat Incumbent

* Larry Martin. Republican.

* Ralph Vroman, Jr. Republican

#28. Clark County

* Eddie Flores, Democrat

* Mo Denis, Democrat

* Rosa Mendoza, Democrat

* Tino Mendoza, Republican

* Benjamin J. Bell, Sr., Republican

#29. Clark County

* Anthony Bandiero, Republican

* Jon Petrick, Republican

* Anne Dimartini, Republican

* Michael R. Smith, Republican

* Scott Ervin, Republican

* Mohammed High, Democrat

* Susan Gerhardt, Democrat

#30. Washoe County

* Gustavson, Don Republican Incumbent

* Debbie Smith, Democrat.

#31. Washoe County

* Anderson, Bernie Democrat Incumbent

* Randi Thompson, Republican

#32. Humboldt, Lander, Washoe Counties (Parts of each)

* Marvel, John, Republican Incumbent

* Lonnie Feemster, Democrat

* Joan Morrow, Democrat

#33. Elko, Humboldt Counties. (Parts of each)

* Carpenter, John C., Republican Incumbent

#34. Clark County

* Horne, William Democrat Incumbent

#35. Eureka County

* Goicoechea, Pete Republican Incumbent

* Marcia de Braga. Democrat

* Linwood Tracy, Jr., IAP

#36. Churchill, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye Counties (Parts of Each)

* Sherer, Rod, Republican Incumbent

* Jackie Holmgren, IAP

#37. Clark County

* Conklin, Marcus, Democrat Incumbent

* Scott Anderson, Republican

* Sandra Vitolo, Republican

#38. Carson City, Churchill, Storey Counties ( Parts of Each)

* Grady, Tom, Republican Incumbent

* Cathylee James, Democrat

* Dennis Gomez, IAP

#39. Douglas, Carson City, Washoe Counties (Parts of Each)

* Hettrick, Lynn Republican Incumbent

* Randy Green, Independent

#40. Carson City, Washoe County, Parts of Each

* Knecht, Ron Republican Incumbent

* Bonnie Parnell Democrat

* Merritt Yochum, Democrat

#41. Churchill, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye counties (Parts of Each)

* Parks, David Democrat Incumbent

* Patricia Saye, Republican

* Christopher Hansen, IAP

#42. Clark County

* Mortenson, Harry Democrat Incumbent

* Bob Adney, Republican

* Kurt Brauner, Republican

Nevada Senate

The Senate is elected to six-year terms, thus during this election cycle, only ten seats are up for reelection. There are 21 Senate Districts in the Silver State. Here is a list of those districts up for election and those who have filed.

* Candidate has filed for election

Clark County Districts

District 1, Clark

* Shaffer, Raymond C. Republican Incumbent

* Sharon Shaffer, Democrat

* Mike Schaefer, Democrat

* Chris Colasuono, Democrat

* John Lee, Democrat

* Gary Rogers, Democrat

District 3, Clark

* Wiener, Valerie Democrat

* Leo Davenport, Republican

District 4, Clark

* Steven Horsford, Democrat

* Bert Mack, Democrat

* Theresa Malone, Democrat

* Cedric Crear, Democrat

* Linda Howard, Democrat

* Mabel Lucier, Republican

District 5, Clark (Seat A)

* O'Connell, Ann Republican Incumbent

* Joe Heck, Republican

* Richard Fitzpatrick, Democrat

* T Rex Hagan, Libertarian

District 6, Clark

* Rawson, Raymond D. Republican Incumbent

* Bob Beers, Republican

* Kathie Lynn Profant, IAP

District 7, Clark (Seat A)

* Titus, Dina Democrat Incumbent

* Paul Fairfield, Republican

* Ken Sondej, Republican

* John Darius Russo, IAP

District 11, Clark

* Schneider, Michael Democrat Incumbent

* Todd Allen, Democrat

* Danny Tarkanian, Republican

Washoe County Districts

District 3, Washoe

* Raggio, William J. Republican Incumbent

* Cameron Crain, Democrat

* Gary Feero, IAP

Northern District

* Rhoads, Dean A. Republican Incumbent

* Thomas Jefferson, IAP

Central Nevada District

* McGinness, Mike Republican Incumbent

* John O'Connor, Republican

* Freddie Warman, Democrat

* Kenneth Greenwell, IAP

Congressional Races

One U.S. Senate seat is available this year, and all three congressional districts will also have elections. In the Senate, Harry Reid, incumbent is being challenged by three Republicans, and candidates from the Natural Law Party and the Independent American Party.

* Indicates has filed

Senate

* Harry Reid, Democrat. U.S. Senate incumbent

* Carlo Poliak, Republican

* Robert Brown, Jr., Republican

* Kenneth Wegner, Republican

* Richard Ziser, Republican

* Royal Melton, Republican

* Cherie Tilley, Republican

* David Schumann, IAP

* Gary Marinch, Natural Law Party

* Thomas Hurst, Libertarian

The races for Congress are also active this time around with Jon Porter's seat garnering the most attention.

First Congressional District

* Shelley Berkley, Democrat, Incumbent

* Ann Reynolds, Democrat

* Brian Kral, Democrat

* Francisco E. Tamez, Republican

* Lewis Byer, Republican

* Russ Mickelson, Republican

* Jim Duensing, Libertarian

Second Congressional District

* Jim Gibbons, Republican, Incumbent

* David Bennett, Democrat

* Angie Cochran, Democrat

* Janine Hansen, IAP

* Brendan Trainor, Libertarian

Third Congressional District

* Jon Porter, Republican, Incumbent

* Rick DeVoe, Democrat

* Anna Nevenic, Democrat

* Shanna Phillips, Democrat

* Mark Budetich, Democrat

* Tom Gallagher, Democrat

* Ron Von Felden, Democrat

* Richard Wayne O’Dell, IAP

* Joseph Silvestri, Libertarian

* Pete O'Neil, Independent

State Board of Education

District 1

* Sharon Frederick

* Dean Jeter

District 3

* Marcia Washington

District 4

* John Hawk

District 7

* Merv Iverson

District 8

* John Gwaltney

District 9

* Dave Cook

* Barbara Myers

* Stacie Wilke

University System Board of Regents

District 6

* Doug Seastrand

District 7

* Steve Sisolak

* Jack Surpure

District 8

* Dorothy Gallagher

* Stan Aiazzi

District 11

* Doug Hill

* Sean Westwood

* Rajan Zed

District 13

* Matthew Berkus

* Mark DeStefano

* Jim Germain

* Tom Kirkpatrick

* Gloria Sturman

* James Leavitt

The ballots in the major counties are going to be full as well. Clark County has county commission seats and city council positions to fill, as does Washoe County. One of the more interesting races that has developed wasn't planned at all. The appointment of Lynette Boggs-McDonald to the Clark County Commission opened the Ward 2 seat on the Las Vegas City Council, and candidates literally flocked to the opportunity.

A special election to fill that seat will be held on June 22. This will be a unique election in that, whoever wins the most votes, wins the seat. There won't be a run-off. Here is the list of 12 who filed.

* Firouzeh Forouzmand

* Bob Genzer

* Steve Greco

* John Hambrick

* Joanne Levy

* Gabriel Lither

* Martin Manke

* Margarita Rebollal

* Duane Stephens

* Nevada Stupak

* Richard Truesdell

* Steve Wolfson

Clark County Commission

District A

* Bruce Wookbury, Incumbent, Republican

* Anthony Radovicich, Republican

* William Ballard II, IAP

District B

* Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Incumbent, Democrat

* John Bonaventura, Democrat

* Vonne Chowning, Democrat

* Tom Collins, Democrat

* John Stephens, Democrat

* Shari Buck, Republican

* Grant Claycomb, Republican

* Glen Easter, Republican

District C

* Chip Maxfield, Incumbent, Republican

* Bill Crane, Republican

* Jerry Tao, Democrat

District D

* Yvonne Atkinson Gates, Incumbent, Democrat

* Jesus Moreno, Democrat

* Joe Neal, Democrat

* Chester Richardson, Republican

* Scott Narter, IAP

District F

* Lynette Boggs-McDonald, Incumbent, Republican

* John Bishop, Republican

* Tim Cory, Republican

* David Goldwater, Democrat

* Bob Taylor, Democrat

Washoe County

Washoe County Commission

District 1

* Jim Galloway, Incumbent, Republican

* Tom Herndon, Republican

* Lynn Atcheson, Democrat

District 4

* Jim Shaw, Incumbent, Democrat

* Bob Larkin, Republican

Reno City Council (Non Partisan)

Ward 1

* Zak Gilbert

* Michelle Buck

* Dan Gustin

* Ron Dreher

Ward 3

* Jessica Sferrazza, Incumbent

* Joseph E.K. Johnson

* Sam Dehne

Ward 5

* Dave Aiazzi, Incumbent

* Patty Melton

* Jim Calkins

At-Large

* Pierre Hascheff, Incumbent

* Bernie L. Clark

* Jason Dias

Sparks City Council (Non Partisan)

Ward 1

* John R. Mayer, Incumbent

Ward 3

* Geno R. Matini, Incumbent

* Fred Lokken

Ward 5

* Ron Schmitt, Incumbent

* Larma Volk

For those circulating petitions to change Nevada's constitution, the filing deadline is June 15.

If you haven't already registered to vote, the deadline to register to vote in the Primary Election is August 17 and the Primary is on September 7.

Nevada has early voting, and that period this cycle, for the Primary, is August 21 to September 3.

The general election will be held on November 2, preceded by early voting October 16 through 29.