Public forum showcases sheriff's candidates

Carson City voters will have a chance to meet and question five sheriff's candidates in an open forum Thursday at the Community Center.

Hosted by the League of Women Voters, candidates Scott Burau, Wayne Fazzino, Ken Furlong, Bob Guimont and Richard Mendoza will be together during a moderated forum in the Sierra Room from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The forum will also be broadcast live on Carson Access Television, Channel 10, and a phone number will be shown for people to call in their questions.

"One of the major goals of the League of Women Voters is to have an informed electorate," said Peggy Twedt, forum chairwoman. "We'll accommodate as many people as we can. We really want a live audience."

Questions posed by members of the live audience and those phoned in from home will be sorted and as many as possible will be asked, Twedt said.

Each candidate will have two minutes to respond, and with each question the order of who speaks first will be rotated.

"Because there are so many candidates for the sheriff we decided to do this," said Twedt.

Twedt said the non-partisan League tries to fill a void for the community.

"We owe it to the voters to have a real neutral ground where the candidates can express themselves."

All five candidates have a background in law enforcement and three of them currently working at the Carson City Sheriff's Department.

Burau is chief deputy of operations, Mendoza is a detective and Guimont is a deputy. Fazzino is an investigator with the Attorney General's Office and Furlong is an investigator with the Nevada Division of Investigation.

The incumbent sheriff, Rod Banister, who took office in January 1995 after winning the November 1994 election, chose not to run for reelection.

The League is planning two more forums in the coming months -- one will showcase supervisor candidates and discuss the fairground and school bond issues, the other will be for the legislative candidates.

Candidate web sites or e-mail addresses:

-- Scott Burau: burauforsheriff@aol.com

-- Wayne Fazzino: www.fazzinoforsheriff.com

-- Ken Furlong: www.kenfurlong.com

-- Bob Guimont: www.guimontforsheriff.com

-- Richard Mendoza: www.carsoncitysheriff.com