Candidate filing period in Nye County now open

The official candidate filing period for the 2018 election is now underway, opening Monday, March 5 and several political hopefuls wasted no time, registering that very day.

Over the last week, others have added their names to the growing lists as well, forming the pool of potentials that Nye County residents must sift through in the coming months.

In Nye County itself, there are eight major county partisan offices up for election, such as commissioner, treasurer and assessor, as well as one countywide non-partisan seat, that of Nye County sheriff. There is also an array of district and township non-partisan offices to be decided in the 2018 election, including town board and justice of the peace races.

Nye County candidates

For the Nye County Commission, the seats for Districts 4 and 5 are up for election. As it stands now, only Republicans have registered for the commission contests.

In commission District 4, the position is set to see a new face in 2019 as current commissioner of District 4, Butch Borasky, has reached his term limits and cannot run for re-election.

While several residents have indicated an interest in running for District 4, only two have filed for that race thus far. Included are local businessman and former candidate for various offices Leo Blundo and newcomer Ron Boskovich. The two will square off in the Republican primary.

The commission District 5 seat is currently occupied by Commissioner Dan Schinhofen, a Republican, who has previously stated that he does intend to run for re-election. However, he has not yet officially filed as a candidate.

Those who have filed for the commission District 5 race include Dwight Lilly, Leo Marchetti and Debra Strickland, all of the Republican Party.

Nye County assessor will be another contested office this year but thus far it is shaping up to be a showdown in the general election rather than the primaries. Two candidates have filed for the position of assessor, including Andy Alberti as an Independent American and incumbent Sheree Stringer as a Republican.

The Nye County treasurer’s seat is also up for grabs this year. It is currently filled by former Nye County Manager Pam Webster, who was appointed treasurer in January. She stated at the time that she was not planning to run for the office this year.

However, Borasky has publicly announced he will seek the seat, although he had not filed as of end of business on Wednesday, the most up-to-date information available. Lance Schaus is the only person to have filed for treasurer as of yet, registering himself as an Independent American.

The Nye County district attorney will be decided in 2018 as well. Nye County District Attorney Angela Bello, a Republican, stated that she will campaign for re-election but she has not yet filed. If she does, she will face off with Republican candidate Chris Arabia in the primaries.

Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly is another who has said she will seek re-election but has not registered yet. This non-partisan office has two others currently filed, Asa Kulkin and Gerald Butler.

The non-partisan race that has the largest set of contenders is that of Pahrump justice of the peace. Former Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone has filed, as well as Lisa Chamlee, Richard Hamilton, Randy Jones, Robert Martin and Warren Pawliuk. In Beatty, only incumbent Justice of the Peace Gus Sullivan has filed and the same holds true for Tonopah, where incumbent Jennifer Klapper is the only registered candidate.

Nye County Recorder Deborah Beatty is set to battle it out with Michael Noyes in the general election. Beatty is a Republican while Noyes registered as an Independent American.

Nye County Clerk Sam Merlino has registered for re-election and so far no others have done so and she may be running uncontested. Nye County Public Administrator Ginger Stumne, who was appointed to that position last year, is hoping to be officially elected to the post and she too is running uncontested thus far. Both are registered Republicans.

Other races with only one candidate filed so far include Nye County School District Board of Trustees Area 5 with Sean Hastings, school board trustee area 3 with Ray Grant, Amargosa Town Board with Trevor Dolby and Tonopah Town Board with Jerry Elliston.

No candidates have registered for the Round Mountain Town Board, Northern Nye County Hospital District, Beatty Water and Sanitation District, Beatty General Improvement District or Nye County School Board of Trustees Area 1.

State candidates

The race for Nevada governor already includes half a dozen candidates. Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt has been very public about his intention to run for governor but he has not registered yet, according to the Nevada secretary of state’s filing report.

In the Republican primary, Bill Boyd, Jared Fisher, Stan Lusak and Dan Schwartz will contend against one another. Henry Thorns is the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate so far while Russell Best has filed as an Independent American.

Another race that will undoubtedly be of interest to many in Nye County is that for Nevada Assembly District 36. Incumbent candidate James Oscarson and candidate Dennis Hof will see a repeat of the 2016 election and will fight it out over this seat once again this year. This time, however, Hof is registered as a Republican instead of a Libertarian so the race between the two will be decided in the primaries.

Other statewide races include lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state controller and attorney general. A list of candidates for these and all other positions is available on the secretary of state’s website.

Federal candidates

Nye County voters will decide on two federal seats as well, Congress and U.S. Senate.

U.S House of Representatives District 4 will be wide open this year with incumbent candidate Ruben Kihuen declining to run for re-election following a sexual misconduct allegation.

The very man he managed to unseat in the 2016 election, Cresent Hardy, will be seeking that office once again. Hardy will vie for the seat with David Gibbs in the Republican primary. In the opposite side of the Congressional District 4 office, Amy Vilela is the only Democrat to have registered.

For U.S. Senate, incumbent candidate Dean Heller, a Republican, has not filed yet but he has stated he will run for re-election. The Republican primary for this seat is so far set to see Sherry Brooks and Tom Heck, while the Democratic primary will include Danny Burleigh, Jacky Rosen and Jesse Sbaih. Danny Tarkanian, who has also stated he will seek the U.S. Senate seat, had not registered as of Thursday.

All those hoping to secure an elected office in 2018 must register their candidacy by no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 16. The primary election is set for June 12. The 2018 general election will take place November 6.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes