Stan Hyt discusses campaign for Nye County sheriff
Stan Hyt is running for Nye County sheriff this year, with hopes of becoming the new top lawman for a large area of the Silver State.
“Being a retired law enforcement officer, the badge is very dear to my heart. Serving my community is very dear to my heart,” Hyt told the Pahrump Valley Times. “I was content in retirement, but when it comes to protecting our community, I’m not gonna just sit still. I really want to participate in solving the issues that we have.”
Background
Hyt (pronounced ‘height’) is a San Diego State University alumnus who graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice administration. After college, Hyt was hired by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and moved to Nevada’s largest city in 1978.
“My intention to go to Las Vegas was just to get involved with the police department and get some experience and go back to San Diego because I really love San Diego,” Hyt recalled. “But the more I stayed, the more I was living and growing in Las Vegas, I just loved it.”
Hyt went on to work at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for 30 years, serving as both as an officer and sergeant.
“I worked in many different facets of Clark County law enforcement and gained a lot of experience in law enforcement,” Hyt said.
Previous run for sheriff
Before running for Nye County sheriff this year, Hyt previously ran for Clark County sheriff in 2022.
“I ran a sheriff’s campaign four years ago in Clark County and I didn’t win it, but my campaign was attractive to a lot of people here in Pahrump that were aware of it and because of the issues in the sheriff’s office that are occurring right now, I was recruited to run for sheriff here,” Hyt explained. “I originally elected not to because I wasn’t from Pahrump, so I didn’t feel like I’d be accepted by the community, but the more and more I was presented with the issues and the more and more people I spoke with involved with the government here and the sheriff’s office, I decided I would go ahead and run.”
Priorities
When speaking about his top issues, Hyt laid out crime reduction, drug trafficking, and homelessness as the main three objectives he wants to tackle.
“Those seem to be the things that come up in the majority of my interactions with the community, but when I have these meet and greets, when I talk to the officers, the deputies that are going to be working, I’ll find out additional issues. … I’m going to learn, I’m going to listen, and I’m going to find out what it is we need to do over and above those three major points,” Hyt said.
The sheriff-hopeful also highlighted visibility as a major part of his administration if elected.
“I want to put the two together, break down the walls between the uniform and the civilian, so that we look at each other as collaborators in this desire to make our community better,” Hyt elaborated.
Hyt said that he wants to do monthly meet and greets with officers so the community and local law enforcement agency can get to know each other.
“I want to make sure that they participate in the improvement of Nye County. It’s not just the sheriff’s office,” Hyt emphasized. “The sheriff’s office itself cannot solve homelessness. It cannot solve crime. It needs collaboration. It needs participation, and that’s my main message I want to get across to the community. I want to involve them. I want to involve my deputies in the community. I want the community involved with my deputies.”
For more information about Stan Hyt’s bid for Nye County sheriff, visit stanhytforsheriff.com.
Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com
