Douglas voters defeat tax increases, re-elect incumbents

MINDEN - Incumbents ruled the day in Douglas County with county commissioner Dave Brady, Justice of the Peace Jim EnEarl and Public Administrator Lynne EnEarl all winning their races handily.

Some new faces joined the incumbents with Carson Valley native James Settelmeyer taking the Assembly District 39 seat vacated by Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick and Douglas County planning commissioner Nancy McDermid winning the right to replace commissioner Tim Smith on the county commission.

In Douglas County, where Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick retired, Republican James Settelmeyer swept past Democrat JoEtta Brown .

McDermid defeated Democrat Greta Hambsch 11,735 votes to 6,629.

In all, 19,480 voters cast ballots in the election or about 71.5 percent of the county's active voters.

Brady won by a only slightly narrower margin over fellow Republican and former Carson Valley broadcaster Lloyd Higuera.

Brady received 9,491 votes to Higuera's 7,094 votes.

Brady said he feels one of the factors that contributed to his win was the fact that the community is unsettled with a business as usual approach and is looking for a sense of direction that is different than they've had in the past.

"I offer leadership and direction, and I hope to contribute to teamwork and team building, as we create a sense of direction for the county, he said.

Brady complimented Higuera on a well-run campaign.

"In this campaign season of negative campaigns, I'm proud of the one we've run," he said.

Higuera thanked those who helped and supported him in this effort.

"It was a great experience," he said.

He's been a report covering campaigns, but being a candidate is a very different experience, he said.

"I want to congratulate all the winners," he said. "I'm pleased with the campaign I ran, but in the end the people decided to put Brady rather than me in the seat."

A certified financial planner, Brady has been a managing principal at Brady & Associates in Minden since May 1998. In his 20 years in Douglas County he has held many community service positions, including school board trustee, member of the board of commissioners for Douglas County Parks and Recreation and president of the Douglas County School Board.

He was appointed to the commission seat by Gov. Kenny Guinn in February 2005, after the resignation of Jacques Etchegoyhen.

Brady graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in public affairs. Three years later, he earned a master's degree in public administration from that institution.

Brady spends his free time sailing and cycling. He and wife, Mary, have five children, ages 21 to 17.

Measures defeated

All three Douglas County tax measures were defeated, with a proposed half-cent sales tax to support law enforcement in the county going down by the narrowest margin, 10,384 against to 8,533 in favor. Question 2, which would go to support the senior center was defeated 10,794 to 8,129 and Question 3 which would support the Douglas County Historical Society lost 14,618 to 4,229.

Justice of the Peace

East Fork Justice of the Peace Jim EnEarl defeated challenger, Minden attorney Kelly Chase 9,552 votes to 6,095 in the race for his seat.

EnEarl spent election night taking down his campaign signs.

• The Record-Courier Editor Kurt Hildebrand contributed to this report.

Douglas County final results

19,450 total votes cast; 71.5 percent of registered voters

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 2

X-David J. Brady - R 57.23 percent; 9,491

Lloyd W. Higuera - R 42.77 percent; 7,094

COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT 4

X-Nancy McDermid - R 63.9 percent; 11,735

Greta G. Hambsch - D 36.1 percent; 6,629

COUNTY ASSESSOR

Douglas W. Sonnemann - R 100 percent; 15,595

COUNTY CLERK/TREASURER

Barbara J. Griffin Reed - R 100 percent; 15,724

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Mark Jackson - R 100 percent; 15,418

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR

X-Lynn Enearl - R 70.96 percent; 12,525

Samuel H. Dupuis -I 29.04 percent; 5,126

COUNTY RECORDER

Werner W. Christen - R 100 percent; 15,294

CONSTABLE EAST FORK

Paul E. Gilbert - R 100 percent; 13,575

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE, EAST FORK TOWN - NP

X-Jim A. Enearl - 61.05 percent; 9,552

Kelly Chase - 38.95 percent; 6,095