Letters to editor of the Pahrump Valley Times

Realistic information about the last election

After listening to a lot of people telling the Nye County commissioners “what the voters want and what they expect” after voting for Dennis Hof in the recent general election, I felt I could add some realistic information. While much of it comes from my discussions with many Nye County Republican voters, some of it is derived merely from being able to count.

Prior to his death, I believe we all agree that Democratic voters were NOT going to support Dennis Hof. It was openly discussed that Republicans across the state of Nevada and across the nation were not “pleased” that Dennis could possibly win the District 36 Assembly seat and go to Carson City. With that said, many Republican voters stated that they would vote Democratic instead. That led me and many others to believe that it would be a close election. Let’s look at the numbers:

Republicans = 11,000 / Democrats = 5,000 for a total of 16,000 votes. With the Oscarson Republicans and the other Republican voters that were dissatisfied with the negative “image” that Dennis Hof projected, he was destined to lose a minimum of 3,000 votes. Just doing the math, the total for Lesia Romanov would have been 8,000, leaving 8,000 for Dennis. I would consider that a close race.

When Dennis suddenly passed away, those same defecting Republicans (and I) read the NRS that stated that, if the deceased candidate won, a selection for a replacement from that same Political Party MUST be made. So, those same Republicans that wanted a Republican, but not Dennis Hof, changed their votes back to Republican. These are the indisputable facts that changed an election.

Now, who should fill that seat? I’d recommend Patrick (Pat) Nary. He is a resident of District 36. He is a perfect fit for the Nye County Republicans, who are looking for the ideal person. He was the senior Army instructor at Pahrump Valley High School. He supported all veteran events within Nye County, provided Color Guard support for numerous community events, and was a sought-after speaker for many occasions throughout the state and within Nye County. He would also improve the ‘image” of Nye County in the Nevada Assembly after an election that caught the eye of the nation in a “not so favorable” spotlight. Pat Nary really is the right choice for this seat.

Tom Waters