Nye County Republican Party debates: Who spoke, attended and more information

Ahead of the general election, the Nye County Republican Central Committee (Nye County Republican Party) held a debate and town hall event for local contests.

“We want to see people know their candidates, know their elected officials and as the Nye County Republican Party, we want to just be part of the process,” Nye County Republican Party Chairman Leo Blundo told the Pahrump Valley Times after the event.

A crowd of approximately 75 people filled the Nye County Republican Party headquarters on Saturday, Aug. 8, to hear from incumbents and elected office hopefuls.

“These races are so critical because this is the local government that is having an impact in our lives as a constituency, as the citizens here,” Blundo explained.

Fifth Judicial District Court judge, Department 1

The first debate to kick off the day was the race for Department 1 judge of the Fifth Judicial District Court with incumbent Judge Kimberly “Kim” Wanker, who attended via Zoom, and challenger Nathan Gent.

One of the questions posed to the candidates was, “How do you think about self-represented litigants, people who can’t afford a lawyer navigating civil or family court alone? What does fairness look like for them in your courtroom?”

Gent answered the question first, stating, “Everybody who comes into the courtroom deserves to be treated fairly, respectfully and according to the law. It is important to have good communication with individuals that choose to represent themselves. It’s a right, and they can exercise that right, and so it’s important to have clear communication to be able to establish what the standards are, and that they will be held to the same standards as the other parties. The law applies equally to all.”

Wanker answered next and said, “I was selected by the [then] governor [Brian Sandoval], but the Commission on Judicial Selection asked me that question, and the answer is this: You cannot treat a self-represented litigant any differently than you treat a litigant who is in court represented by an attorney. That’s the law. That question was asked of me by the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court. However, we can make things easier for self-represented litigants.”

Fifth Judicial District Court judge, Department 2

Incumbent Fifth Judicial District Court Department 2 Judge Robert Lane, who is running for reelection, spoke to the audience and answered questions at Saturday’s event.

“What does judicial temperament mean to you in practice? Not as a buzzword, but as something a courtroom full of nervous litigants would actually notice?” was one of the questions asked to Lane.

The judge responded with, “Well, I’ve been voted the nicest judge in Nevada by my family and I am. I have people come in all the time in pro se, and sometimes lawyers on the other side will explain things, and they speak in legalese, and I’ll turn around to the pro se person. I frequently do this in juvenile and DCFS court and so forth, and I explain using layman’s terms what’s going on, make sure they understand and answer the questions and so forth. Judges aren’t allowed to give legal advice to pro se litigants, but I can answer their procedural questions.”

Pahrump justice of the peace, Department B

Scott Oakley, who is hoping to become the new judge in Department B of the Pahrump Justice Court, answered questions next.

“This may be my first time in public office, but it’s not my first experience serving the people of Pahrump. I’ve had the opportunity to work with people in this community long before they’ve ever walked in the courtroom. That experience has taught me to listen, understand people, and treat everyone with respect,” Oakley told the audience. “Pahrump is growing, and the challenges facing our community will grow with it in the next six years of the term. Our justice court will still see increasing caseloads, more complex criminal and civil matters, domestic violence, substance use and mental health issues, housing disputes and many more.”

Nye County commissioner, District 4

Debra Thomas, the Republican nominee, and Anthony Greco, an Independent American Party candidate, debated each other on Saturday.

“Las Vegas will keep growing faster than it builds affordable housing, and Pahrump will keep absorbing the spillover whether the county plans for it or not. Paint a specific picture of District 4 in 10 years if you were the commissioner. Not ‘smart growth’ as a phrase, but what’s actually built, what industries are here and what’s different about how the county operates. What’s the one decision in your first term that would set that in motion?” was one of the questions posed to the commissioner candidates.

“For my first term, it would be to find out how much water we have. That is the most important thing that we can do right now because if we don’t have water, like I said before, our homes and our businesses will be uninhabitable and worth less,” Thomas said, adding further, “District 4, this is my vision. It may not be everybody else’s vision, but I’m flexible. I picture beautiful homes on the streets, and I picture nice businesses, I picture nice roads, I picture just a lot of really big improvements in the next four years.”

Greco answered, “Well, being commissioner, District 4, if I get the chance to do that, I will be working for the whole county, and I just don’t want my area to look great, I want the whole place to look great. As far as the roads, OK, there’s a good way of getting some roads done by federal government because if we work on flood control, they have to do that. So that way other things will get fixed. As far as what I picture, I want people to live in a happy place, have their constitutional rights and have the government stay out of their homes and their wallets.”

Nye County commissioner, District 5

Matt Sadler, the Republican nominee in the race for the District 5 commission seat, spoke at Saturday’s event.

“I’m running as a Republican in District 5 because I think conservatism by and large has left our leadership, has been absent since I’ve been here for about seven or eight years,” Sadler said during his opening remarks. “I believe when I entered this race, the primary things I was concerned with was that our government officials, in any capacity, elected, appointed and otherwise, were not paying enough attention to protecting our freedoms, our liberties and our pocketbooks.”

Nye County sheriff

Incumbent Sheriff Joe McGill, who is seeking another term as top lawman, closed out the event.

“You’re asking voters for a second term. What’s the single clearest measure of whether the sheriff’s office is safer or better run today than four years ago, and what’s the evidence?” was asked to McGill.

The sheriff responded, “First of all, crime is down throughout Nye County. You can pick and choose the major categories, and you can find a subcategory that says that subcategory is up, but the major categories are down, OK? The best barometer to determine whether Nye County is safer and better in the light of law enforcement is ask your neighbors, ask your friends, ask the people that talk to you. Those are the people that I run into in the grocery store every day that say, ‘Joe, thank you for doing what you’re doing.’”

For more information about the Nye County Republican Central Committee, visit nyegop.org.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com