Republican James Oscarson announced his bid for re-election to a third term in the state Assembly on Wednesday.
Pahrump resident Oscarson was first elected to the Nevada State Assembly in 2012 and represents Nye and Lincoln counties and portions of Clark County.
“Assembly District 36 covers a lot of territory and the biggest challenge for me is making sure that I meet and talk to as many voters as possible,” he said.
The Nye County Republican party renounced Oscarson after he lent support for Assembly Bill 464, a $1.1 billion bill of extended and new taxes that represented one of the largest tax packages in state history. The bill was meant to support Gov. Brian Sandoval’s statewide education plans.
“There are some people that are upset about it,” Oscarson said about the vote. “And my response to them is that we have to move the state forward. One of the biggest barriers to companies coming to Nevada is education and ranking of the education in the state of Nevada.”
“I hope to expand on the conservative reforms we passed last session. What’s more, our veterans and seniors need help, rural Nevada needs attention, and our constitutional rights need safeguarding,” he added.
Oscarson is currently serving as a director of community relations at Desert View Hospital in Pahrump. He is also a member of the advisory board for Immunize Nevada, chairman of the Pahrump outreach training organization No to Abuse and a committee chairman for the Career and Technical Committee for Pahrump Valley High School.
In 2012, Oscarson defeated democratic nominee Anthony Wernicke in the District 36 Republican primary with 1,618 votes and won the November 6, 2012 general election with 14,539 votes.
Leo Blundo, vice chairman of the Nye County Republican Central Committee told the Pahrump Valley Times that Rusty Stanberry, a business analyst at Boyd Gaming in Las Vegas and Las Vegas broadcaster Tina Trenner plan to challenge Oscarson in the upcoming election.
In a phone interview with the Pahrump Valley Times, Trenner, a Pahrump resident, said she was “disappointed” by Oscarson’s vote for the tax increase.
If elected, Trenner pledged to reduce taxes and address several issues, including water, land and wild horses.
“I just want to go to Carson City and try and undo the commerce tax and other taxes and block any other new taxes,” she said.
The primary election will be held on June 14, 2016. The general election will take place on November 8, 2016.
Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77.