Four face off in primary race for Nye County treasurer

A total of five candidates have filed for the office of Nye County treasurer, four of whom will appear on the June 12 Republican primary election ballot.

Pamela Webster

Pamela Webster stated upon taking over the position of interim Nye County treasurer, she was confronted with a system much in need of improvement. She noted she has already taken action to establish cross-training as well as a better working relationship with the comptroller’s office and with the treasurer’s office heading for major change in the near future. She said she desires to be a part of the coming changes.

“I initially said I would do this on an interim basis… I was not going to run, that was not my intent until I saw the need. And the staff has very much requested that I do it,” Webster stated. “I think with the systems implementations that we have on the horizon, it is going to be really important to have someone here who gets what we are doing.”

Webster declared that despite assertions by some, she does, in fact, have the necessary qualifications to be treasurer. Webster detailed work with an aerospace company, followed by a brief period at Toshiba and 14 years with Canon.

In these posts, she undertook financial management, project accounting, proposals, statements and rates, contract management and much more. She came to the valley with the intent of retiring but she was eventually pulled into county government with her first position, Nye County Comptroller. She was then recruited to be the assistant county manager, followed by her promotion to Nye County Manager, a position she held until January, when she resigned.

“I have a very vast financial management background, 30 years,” Webster said, noting she has intimate knowledge in managing multi-million dollar contracts and projects. “And I think there is some immaturity toward understanding the volume, the workload in this office. We have 125 funds, plus the towns and other entities we process for. So it’s not this simplistic duty like some people have tried to make it out to be.” She said the institutional knowledge she has developed with the county will be invaluable as the office progresses into the future.

Voters can learn more about Webster at www.pamwebster2018.com.

Mary Dawn Zlotek

Nye County treasurer candidate Mary Dawn Zlotek said she is in pursuit of the seat because she wants to put her knowledge to work for the betterment of the county.

Zlotek comes with three decades of experience in the health care field, an industry in which she held the titles of human resources manager, regional accounts manager and time as the director of business office. In these positions, she managed four home health and hospice offices in Arizona and California, as well as nine offices in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, which involved mentoring and training business office staff, performing monthly and yearly financial audits of all accounts and participating in yearly federal and state surveys.

She also previously served a four-year elected term as a controller in the state of Pennsylvania, which she feels has given her the right know-how to handle the duties of treasurer. Zlotek has a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Administration, a minor in computer and information systems. She attended Wilkes University as well, where she earned credits toward a master’s degree in health care administration, with a concentration on the financial aspects.

“Based on my past financial experience I would be the perfect candidate to effectively run the treasurer’s office in compliance with Nevada Revised Statute 361,” Zlotek stated. “Also, my 11 months of experience as the Nye County grants and contracts manager has given me the insight into how the county operates and how I would be the best asset in this position to make needed changes.”

Zlotek detailed a variety of goals for the office, including incorporating sound fiscal management policies and procedures, analyzing county department budgets in order to control unnecessary spending and ensure all laws and regulations pertaining to the office are followed to the tee. Additionally, she honed in on cross-training, which is one area the treasurer’s office had failed in past years.

Zlotek said she wishes to, “…cross-train all employees in the operations of the treasurer’s office to effectively manage the office and prevent any work stoppages.”

John Prudhont

A business broker for 25-plus years, John Prudhont is yet another seeking to secure the post of Nye County treasurer. He has boldly declared numerous times that he is the only candidate qualified to hold the seat and he is hoping voters will agree this June.

Prudhont expanded on his experience in the financial sector, highlighting employment with multiple companies. “And I am the only candidate who has that hands-on experience, none of the other candidates have nearly the depth of experience that I have with being a treasurer and a chief financial officer,” Prudhont stated. “My background in managing multiple corporations as a treasurer and a CFO gives me experience that none of the other candidates come even close to.”

Describing himself as a numbers guy, Prudhont explained his reason for running. “I really feel what the Nye County Treasurer’s Office has not had over the last years is anybody who has actually been in the private sector in a corporate management situation with that treasurer’s background,” Prudhont said. “It really does have specific needs and requirements and other types of background do not come anywhere near to satisfying that need.”

Prudhont continued, “I have the background to be able to come in, talk about the numbers and explain them in a way that people can understand… The county commissioners have got to have a clean language explanation of what is happening in the treasurer’s office to be able to determine, what is the cash flow?” Keeping the commission informed on the financial situation of the county is imperative, Prudhont said, for keeping the county budget in line.

Returning to the qualifications of the sitting treasurer, Prudhont concluded, “I encourage the electorate to look at the letters of interest regarding the treasurer’s appointment, those from Pam Webster and the other gentleman, compare them and tell me why she ended up getting appointed. It makes absolutely no sense.”

Voters can learn more about Prudhont on his Facebook, Elect John Prudhont for Nye County Treasurer.

Butch Borasky

Nye County Commissioner Butch Borasky will reach his term limit come 2019 and he has now set his sights on the position of Nye County treasurer.

“My plan when I get elected is to build a team that is second to none in Nye County. I have had the honor and privilege of being an employer most of my life, with the exception of when I was in school. I know how to handle people and I know how to make people proud of themselves,” Borasky stated. “Morale is very important. And I believe in the past the ship wasn’t run so tight. But I am not going to harp on that, I want to concentrate on what I would do. The people will be happy, they will like me as their manager and I am sure most of them are already proud to be Nye County employees but I would like to take it up a notch or two above that.”

Borasky expressed his disappointment with the current interim treasurer, remarking, “Unfortunately we had appointed Pam Webster, who said she would agree not to run for office and she stabbed me in the back. And I can handle that, she is not competition to me… but I don’t like the fact that somebody would say yes, I’ll take the job for the nine months and then walk away from it and now it’s excuse after excuse.”

Borasky also scoffed at Prudhont’s run for treasurer, asserting, “We have a gentleman from Las Vegas who has a big mouth, period. What’s he going to bring? He doesn’t even live in Nye County.”

However, Borasky said he did not want to focus on the negatives, he wanted to highlight the positive. “I have the skills and the talent, believe it or not. I have always been very amenable to people, I have made myself open to them at any time,” he said. “I want that department to be number one. It hasn’t been that way in the past.” Borasky noted he would strive to make the treasurer’s office an example that all other county departments could follow.

Voters can learn more about Borasky by calling 775-209-3100.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com.