The 2018 candidates list is now set, with new contenders barred from throwing their name in the ring by the March 16 deadline.
However, there is no lack of candidates for voters to evaluate over the coming months. Over the week-and-a-half-long filing period, numerous Nye County citizens stepped forward and registered for the many offices up for election this year.
First, party members will decide between the pools of the Republican and Democratic candidates for partisan offices in the June 12 primary election. For some offices, those in which only Republican or only Democratic candidates have filed, the primary will be the deciding factor. The winners of those contests will have their names placed on the general election ballot as a matter of form but they will essentially be elected as of the primary.
Partisan contests with at least one Republican and one Democrat will go to the general election following the primary. Partisan races that include any other political party candidates, such as Independent Americans or Libertarians, will also go to the general election.
For nonpartisan races, if there are only double the number of candidates as there are seats available, they will go straight to the general election. If there are more than double the number of candidates for a nonpartisan office they will appear on the primary election ballot.
The top two vote-getters will go on to the general election, unless one of the candidates receives a majority of the votes in the primary. In that case, they will be considered elected to office and will not have to appear on the general election ballot.
Nye County has several major seats to be decided this year. The following are all partisan offices with four-year terms.
Nye County Assessor
Incumbent candidate Sheree Stringer has headed the Nye County Assessor’s Office since 2014, when she successfully ran against then-assessor Shirley Matson, among others. She is the only Republican registered and will face off with resident Andy Alberti, registered as an Independent American, in the general election.
Nye County Clerk
Nye County Clerk Sandra “Sam” Merlino, a Republican, is once again seeking re-election. She has been in the position of clerk for roughly 18 years. Independent American candidate Sheila Winn is hoping to unseat her and is the only other candidate who filed for clerk. This race will be decided by the general election.
Nye County Commission District 4
The Nye County Commission District 4 seat is wide open in 2018 with current commissioner Butch Borasky unable to run for re-election due to term limits. This race has one of the widest groups of candidates, with three different political parties represented in the filings.
Republicans set to battle for District 4 include Leo Blundo, Ron Boskovich, Tina Trenner and Walt Turner.
Richard Goldstein is the sole Democrat to file for District 4 while Frank Maurizio is the only Independent American. The District 4 contest will go to the primary first, in which the Republican pool will be narrowed down to one. That candidate will go against Goldstein and Maurizio in the general election.
Nye County Commission District 5
Incumbent commissioner Dan Schinhofen, a Republican, has filed for re-election. He will vie for the seat against three others, Dwight Lilly, Leo Marchetti and Debra Strickland. As all candidates in this race are registered Republicans, the District 5 seat will be determined by the June 12 primary results.
Nye County Public Administrator
Pahrump resident and Republican Ginger Stumne is hoping to make her position as Nye County public administrator official in the 2018 election. She was appointed to the office in mid-2017 by the Nye County Commission, following the resignation of then-assessor Robin Dorand-Rudolf.
Stumne will square off with Oren Hampton, also a Republican, in the primary election.
Nye County District Attorney
There are three contenders desiring to head the Nye County district attorney’s office. Incumbent Angela Bello and Chris Arabia, both Republicans, will fight it out in the primary election. The winner will then head to the general election, where they will be head-to-head with Democratic candidate Nicholas Del Vecchio.
Nye County Treasurer
The Nye County treasurer’s seat is currently filled by former Nye County Manager Pam Webster. Despite her statement following her appointment to the treasurer’s position that she was not intending to run for that office in the 2018 election, Webster declared her candidacy last week.
There are several candidates prepared to challenge Webster, including Borasky, Cammy Leier, John Prudhont and Mary Zlotek, all Republicans. Voters will choose between these five in the primary, after which whomever emerges triumphant will head to the general election to face off with Independent American Lance Roy Schaus.
Nye County Recorder
Longstanding Nye County Recorder Deborah Beatty is seeking another four years in that office and she is set to head directly to the general election, where she will contend with Independent American Michael Noyes.
The 2018 election also includes several races that are non-partisan. The following are non-partisan races.
Nye County Sheriff
Nye County sheriff, a four-year term, has the largest group of candidates in the local elections this year and the list includes one candidate that may come as a surprise to many, former Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo.
There are nine others focused on snagging the position of Nye County’s top cop, including incumbent Sharon Wehrly, who took office following a successful bid for election in 2014.
She and DeMeo will face Gerald Butler, Dave Champion, David Hiebert, Asa Kulkin, Ray “The Flagman” Mielzynski, Joe Moffett, Tasha Pfaff and Kenneth Rex in the primary election. The top two will go to the general, unless one candidate manages to secure the 50 percent plus one vote in the primary.
Justice of the Peace – Pahrump
Six candidates have filed for Pahrump justice of the peace. Former Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone, after declining to run for re-election as a commissioner in 2016, has decided to re-enter politics in pursuit of the justice of the peace position. Lisa Chamlee, Richard Hamilton, Randy Jones, Robert Martin and Warren Pawliuk are all prepared to battle with him to secure a six-year term in that office. The justice of the peace race is much the same as the sheriff’s contest, with all candidates going to the primary and the top two, barring the 50 percent plus one vote, will go to the general election.
Nye County School District
Nye County School District Board of Trustees Area 1, 3, 5 and 7 are up for voter consideration as well.
Roger Morones is the only one to register for Area 1 while current Nye County Manager Tim Sutton is the only candidate for Area 7. Their names will go on the primary ballot as a formality and they will be declared elected.
The Area 3 race includes Ray Grant, John Norvell, Mark Owens and Donald Rust. The four will go to the primary followed by the top two in the general election.
Area 5 is being contested by Sean Hastings and Tawna Yazzie in the primary.
All school board terms are four years.
Northern Nye County Hospital District
There are three hospital district board of trustees positions to be determined, one for a two-year unexpired term and two for four-year terms.
Ken Eason and Karmin Gerber will vie for the unexpired two-year term seat while Horace Carlyle, Don Kaminski, Timaree Koscik and Justin Zimmerman will be rivals in the pursuit of the two four-year terms.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes