Races for sheriff, justice of the peace and public administrator featured at primary debate night

The Nye County Republican Club held its second debate last week, highlighting three more local races ahead of next month’s primary election.

“I was very pleased how it went,” Nye County Republican Club President Joe Burdzinski told the Pahrump Valley Times after the debate.

Approximately 300 people attended the event on Thursday evening, May 7, at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino. This was the second of two primary debate nights organized by the Nye County Republican Club.

“I also want to thank the people of Pahrump that came and showed up,” Burdzinski added. “It really shows interest and commitment to our political process here in Nye County.”

The first debate night on April 20 featured the Nye County district attorney race, the District 5 Nye County commissioner race, and the Nye County clerk race. Former Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone returned as the debate’s timekeeper, and the evening’s questions were again developed by the Pahrump Valley Times, with one the newspaper’s reporters moderating. The night’s questions were not shared with any of the candidates ahead of time.

Sheriff debate

The Nye County sheriff race took to the stage first, where current top lawman Joe McGill debated with challengers Stan Hyt, George Wehrly and Dan Pineau.

“What public safety issue is your greatest priority and how will you work to resolve it?” was the first question posed to the sheriff candidates.

“The biggest public safety issue in Nye County that I see right now is drugs. Drugs are extremely out of control,” Pineau answered, adding that if elected as sheriff, he would introduce a drug task force and undercover officers in the community.

McGill responded next and told the crowd, “What I believe is the biggest problem or the biggest issue in Nye County and the Nye County Sheriff’s Office right now is staffing.” McGill said further that many of the deputies previously lived in Las Vegas, but that it’s changed since he took over.

“I want to continue with that with the staffing, because the staffing is not just Pahrump, it’s the whole county,” Wehrly replied, adding that he would reach out to those who can be hired as deputies for Northern Nye County communities like Beatty and Round Mountain.

Hyt answered by stating, “I think our greatest public safety issue is funding. We need funding in Nye County. It’s understaffed and underfunded, and because of that, we need collaboration with other agencies.” Hyt mentioned the Clark County Sheriff’s Office as one of those agencies that could provide support.

Justice of the peace debate

The Pahrump Justice of the Peace, Department B, race was the next debate of the night, with Michele Fiore, who is seeking reelection to her judicial seat, and Michael Foley, the current pro tem judge for department B. During the debate, the judicial candidates were asked to describe their judicial philosophy in simple terms.

“My judicial philosophy is you are innocent before guilt,” Fiore told the crowd. “And I have experienced, I’ve lived, and I’ve watched people come in and be presumed guilty before they are proven innocent, and that is not how it goes. That is not constitutional. I am a 100% constitutional justice.”

Foley answered the question next and said, “Well, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, which I absolutely abide, and my biggest concern is unjustly depriving somebody of their rights. I would never want to do that. So, when a case generally comes in, I review it, I look at it, if I need to research it, I do.”

Public administrator debate

The Republican primary debate for public administrator closed out the evening, with incumbent Ginger L. Simpson and challenger Bill Hockstedler. One of the questions posed to the candidates was: “What aspect of the public administrator role is most commonly misunderstood, and how would you describe the ways in which you serve the community?”

“The way it’s most misunderstood is the fact that this is the only position in Nye County that you don’t pay for,” Simpson said in response. “This job is not something that is funded. It is not paid for. It is not tax dollars. It is not county dollars. People don’t seem to realize. People I’ve known for years that also work in the county had no clue. This job is not paid for. You do not pay for this job. I am paid by the state.”

Hockstedler replied to the question with, “You are correct in the question that the role is misunderstood by many. I’ve had conversations in here tonight with people who don’t understand what the job is actually all about. My opponent did a great job of explaining that, but it goes further than that. It actually goes down to public trust. There’s a perception that there’s things just not quite right in the office. It’s nothing against the office holder. It’s the way that the process is run.”

For more information about the Nye County Republican Club, visit its Facebook page under NCRC - Nye County Republican Club or call (775) 764-8085.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com