Assembly candidate Dr. Joseph Bradley hosts campaign dinner in Pahrump
During a dinner event to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican Nevada Assembly District 36 nomination, Dr. Joseph Bradley set a fairly aggressive tone for his 2020 campaign.
Bradley criticized the voting record of his opponent, appointed Assemblyman Greg Hafen II, in the 2019 legislative session and questioned Hafen’s conservative values while asserting that he feels himself to be the true conservative candidate for the position.
Hosted Wednesday, Sept. 25 at the Pahrump Nugget Events Center, Bradley’s announcement dinner attracted a variety of area voters all interested in learning what Bradley’s intentions and desires are when it comes to holding a political office. Several others spoke at the dinner as well, lending their vocal support to Bradley as he makes his second bid for the Assembly seat.
Starting off the speakers was Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia, and he made his support of Bradley quite clear that evening.
“One of the things that is very important in trying to, for lack of a better word, do the right thing is, having people you can work with who care. In my experience, I think that three of the most important building blocks are sincerity, integrity and respect,” Arabia stated. “Those things are important to me. I’ve gotten to know Dr. Bradley… and he has those building blocks. This is a very smart man, he’s a good man, he is sincere, he has integrity and respect for all of you and the American way of life… I think he’s the kind of person who’s not looking to do anything other than serve. I think that is fantastic.”
Dave Marlon, who is the co-founder of Solutions Recovery and the current president of the State of Nevada Association for Addiction Professionals, also spoke. Marlon said he has known Bradley for 13 years and they have become good friends in that time. Having recruited Bradley to the Solutions Recovery team, he had the opportunity to watch him work with those recovering from addiction and their families and he believes Bradley has a special gift.
“I got to see that Dr. Bradley works hard, he is a man of integrity in his work… I also know that before being a doctor, he was a police officer, a first responder… and I deeply respect him for that and appreciate that. I have also gotten to know him as a family man and he has absolute integrity as a family man… I’ve also had many conversations with him about our country and I am going to tell you he is a man of integrity and a patriot of the United States and one who appreciates the Constitution,” Marlon told attendees. “Integrity is so needed right now, in this country, in this state and in Nye County and I am telling you, Dr. Bradley epitomizes that.”
Bradley’s wife Hannah described him as loyal and honorable with a good work ethic, a man of his word. “The district needs change and my husband is the person to provide change. If he says he’s going to do it, he will do it,” Hannah declared. “He is 100 percent a constitutionalist, an originalist. The founding fathers said it, they meant it, that’s the way it is and he is a firm believer in that.”
Former Marine Corps officer Mark Spicer, who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times, added his support as well, telling the audience that he has the utmost confidence in Bradley’s abilities and urging district constituents to vote for him in the 2020 primary.
Bradley then took to the microphone, starting off with what is clearly a hot-button issue for many Republican voters, that of taxes.
“I signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. I am not going to vote, ever, to raise taxes under any circumstances. I do not believe mistakes of bad leadership should be passed on to the people,” Bradley proclaimed. “I signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and my opponent has not.”
Bradley also emphasized that Hafen was not elected by the people, he was appointed after Republican nominee Dennis Hof posthumously won the 2018 election for district 36.
“He was appointed! Un-elected, let’s keep that in mind,” Bradley stated. “This was not the will of the people. The will of the people was the elected Dennis Hof… You know what Dennis stood for? No new taxes, gun rights, water rights… If you voted for Dennis, please know that the legacy of what he would have done, I will carry on because I will never vote to raise your taxes, period. My opponent has already voted twice to raise taxes and I guess that’s OK because he didn’t say he wouldn’t. But I wouldn’t say we got what we elected, because he wasn’t elected. He was appointed. So we get a chance to right this wrong, by making sure this un-elected tax-hiker does not get into office.”
Bradley touched on many other topics that night, explaining that he is for smaller government and less regulation, desires protection for domestic well owners and is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, without which Bradley declared all other constitutional rights are meaningless, as the people would have no way to protect those rights.
As his speech came to a conclusion, Bradley asked those who had turned out to take a lead in helping his campaign by spreading his message, displaying political signs, donating what they could and most importantly, heading to the polls in June, 2020 to cast their votes in his favor.
Thus far, only Hafen and Bradley have announced their intention to seek the Nevada Assembly District 36 seat. As both are Republicans, if no Democrats or third party candidates register to run for the office, the decision of who hold the office will be determined by the 2020 primary election, set for June 9.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
Hafen responds
Nevada Assemblyman Greg Hafen II offered comments of his own in response to the statements made by Dr. Joseph Bradley, his opponent in the 2020 Republican primary.
"Unlike my opponent, I was born and raised in Southern Nevada and I know the issues that are important to its residents. I believe that my conservative values are reflected in my voting record and… my conservative achievements. As a freshman legislator, I was recognized as one of the top conservative lawmakers in the entire state by the Nevada Policy Research Institute and the American Conservative Union Foundation," Hafen stated.
"I also understand that my opponent is trying to use the Taxpayer Protection Pledge as an issue of contention. It is very difficult to convince me that there is a need to increase the tax burden on Nevadans. Instead we should be looking at ways to reduce costs and lower taxes," Hafen continued. "It is easy to attack people when you don't have a record to run on. As the campaign moves forward, I will focus on solutions to make things better for the residents of Assembly District 36."
