Brothel owner Dennis Hof announced that he’s running for the state Senate seat in Reno.
Hof will be running on the Libertarian ticket for outgoing Greg Brower’s seat and said that actions taken by the Senate spurred his running for office.
“Our senators took the margins tax bill, which 80 percent of Nevada said they did not want, the Governor painted it and called it another name and got the senators to pass this bill, which gave us the largest tax increase in the history of Nevada and it’s all put on the backs of businessmen.” Hof said.
The bill Hof is speaking of is Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $1.1 billion package of new and extended taxes, including a business gross receipts “commerce tax” imposed on revenue of $4 million or more.
Hof claims the tax increase was brought in by a bunch of senators that had no experience in the business realm.
“The senators who voted on this, besides Michelle Fiori, there’s only two people that ever wrote a paycheck, so they don’t get it, they don’t understand business,” he said. “For them to put this burden on the backs of businessmen is just wrong.”
Hof owns several brothels throughout the state, including the Love Ranch South in Crystal, where the infamous Lamar Odom drug overdose situation took place in October. He also owns Alien Cathouse in Amargosa Valley.
Although Hof said he wasn’t really planning on running for the State Senate, he did have a larger position he wanted to vie for.
“I wanted to run for the U.S. Senate, but I couldn’t figure out, besides writing my own check, how I could come up with the $5 million to $10 million, which is what it takes to be part of that race,” he said. “I didn’t want to sell out to special interest groups, so I refused to take money for that. So I decided to get into something that I could fund myself.”
If elected, Hof already has a couple of focal points that he’d like to take on, as he sees the pair of issues as the biggest problems in the entire state.
“We have the worst educational system in America. Congratulations, Nevada. We also have one of the worst sex trafficking problems in America. Congratulations, Nevada,” he said. We have to figure out why our educational system is so bad, you can’t just keep throwing money at it, we’ve got to figure out what the problem is. Then we have to stop sex trafficking in Nevada.”
One way the state could curb the sex trafficking issue is whether or not the state will enact the regulations already in place, according to Hof.
“The state needs to figure out if they’re going to enforce their laws, which they have good laws, they’re just not enforced,” he said.
Hof explained that he’s gearing up for his run at the seat and is ready to hit the ground running and offered a reason why prospective voters should cast their ballot for him.
“I’m ready to get out there and shake some hands and get my point of view across,” he said. “I’m a successful businessman, I understand business. I’m a well-known guy who doesn’t need money from special interest groups.”
At this junction Hof’s only contender for the seat is Republican Heidi Gansert, a former assemblywoman and former chief of staff to Gov. Sandoval. A Democratic candidate has yet to announce their running.
The State Senate is the upper house of the Nevada State Legislature and consists of 21 members.The Nevada Legislature is biennial, meeting only in odd-numbered years. Senators are elected for four-year terms, and are limited to serving up to three terms.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.