Nye County Republican Club March luncheon: Featured speaker

The Nye County Republican Club held its third luncheon this week in its mission of connecting the public with GOP officials.

“There’s a real interest in the community to be more involved in learning and being part of the club,” Nye County Republican Club President Joe Burdzinski told the Pahrump Valley Times after the event’s conclusion. “So it’s very rewarding, and I’m grateful for the people who have signed up.”

The lunch on March 25, held at the Bob Ruud Community Center, began with Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church Deacon Rick Minch providing an invocation and incumbent Nye County Clerk Cori Freidhof leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

“President Eisenhower’s quote was that it’s every American’s part-time job to be involved in politics, because that’s what makes us as a country be successful in our people and in our communities,” Burdzinski said.

Incumbent Republican Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi, who has already announced his bid for reelection, was this luncheon’s featured speaker.

“I love what I do. I think I have the best job in the world because there’s not much that goes on in the county that doesn’t come through my office that we don’t have to work on,” Kunzi told the crowd at the beginning of his talk. “My goal is to figure out problems, find solutions and make things better for people.”

During his remarks, Kunzi spoke about his legal career, highlighting his time in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, how he was one of the primary authors of the state’s Amber Alert plan, and his role on the state commission that developed the community notification standards and the tiering system for sex offenders.

“I’ve been in the communities fighting for things, making sure the communities are safer, making sure that things are being done the way they need to be done,” the district attorney emphasized when speaking.

Kunzi also spoke highly of his team, explaining that since Nye County is self-insured, he now has a civil litigation team that has helped the county save money since it is not hiring outside attorneys.

“I believe that I have one of the best district attorney groups in the state of Nevada,” Kunzi said to the audience.

Many incumbents seeking reelection were in attendance at the Wednesday luncheon, including Michele Fiore for justice of the peace, Debra Strickland for the District 5 Nye County commissioner, Kimberly Wanker for Fifth Judicial District Court Department 1 judge, Deborah Beatty for Nye County recorder, Ron Boskovich for the District 4 Nye County commissioner, and Gregory Hafen II for District 36 in the state Assembly.

There were also many elected office hopefuls in attendance, including Nye County sheriff candidate Dan Pineau, Nye County public administrator candidate Bill Hockstedler, District 4 commissioner candidate Debra Thomas, and Fifth Judicial District Court Department 1 judge candidate Nathan Gent.

Burdzinski also awarded Boskovich, Hafen and Kunzi a certificate of recognition for their support of the club.

For more information about the Nye County Republican Club, visit its Facebook page under NCRC - Nye County Republican Club or call (775) 764-8085.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com