Capital Senate District

Mark E. Amodei

Age: 48

Hometown: Carson City

Occupation: Lawyer

Family: Mother Joy Longero Amodei - retired Carson City resident; daughters Ryanne M. Amodei - Serving on active duty as an ensign in the Navy, and Erin J. Amodei - Student at UNR in pre-nursing curriculum.

Political background: Republican. 10 years service in Nevada Legislature representing Carson City and Capital Senate district which includes parts of Carson City, Douglas, Storey and Lyon Counties.

Tell us about yourself:

After serving and building effective networks with my colleagues in both the Senate and Assembly; in both parties; and with both Southern and Northern Nevada Legislators, I'd like the opportunity to serve for a final four years and continue my efforts to meet the challenges faced by our state.

I hope that the value to our region in having a State Senator who both chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and serves as the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is recognized as an excellent position from which to have our concerns and goals recognized.

If elected, would you support going beyond the spending cap? If you would hold the spending cap, where would you cut? What programs, services or expenses do you believe the state can reduce?

I would support a modification in the present spending cap to more accurately reflect the budget realities faced by the fastest growing state in the nation.

With all due respect to my colleagues who served in 1979, the challenges Nevada faced from a budget perspective nearly 30 years ago, are not the ones presently confronting public officials who are charged with funding education, providing human services to the young and old who are making up a larger and larger portion of Nevada's population, and a host of other needs which all call for resources as a major portion of the solution.

The state is looking at more than $3 billion in needs for transportation improvements, most of it in southern Nevada. How should the state fund those projects or should it?

My first preference is to devote a meaningful portion of the excess revenues experienced this cycle to highway construction.

It is an existing revenue stream, and, as we know from two years ago, there are funds, which, with the appropriate leadership, can and should go to this area of need.

I believe the one time return of nearly 300 million dollars last budget cycle, was a mistake in view of the dire situation our highway funding is presently in.

As a legislator who voted for the refund, I take full responsibility for making what I believe was the wrong vote on that issue, and hope to provide some assistance in directing resources to this area if re-elected.

Contact information:

882-6500

During the legislative session: mamodei@sen.state.nv.us

Between sessions: larends@kkbrf.com

Merritt K. "Ike" Yochum

Age: 80

Hometown: Carson City

Occupation: Retired

Family: Wife, 3 children, 6 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren

Political background: Independent American Party. Have been a candidate for office in this state every election since 1970.

Tell us about yourself:

Member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers since 1947, business owner in Carson City 1970-1980, commercial fisherman 1973-1987, ocean charters 1987-1993, semi-retired to present.

If elected, would you support going beyond the spending cap? If you would hold the spending cap, where would you cut? What programs, services or expenses do you believe the state can reduce?

If elected, I would not support going beyond the spending cap. I would hold to the spending cap. I would cut spending in every department of the state government. I would eliminate Millenium Grants althogether.

I would reduce government employees pay to not more than the pay that employees in the private sector receive for similar job classifications, prorated with other benefits such as health care and retirement rates. No one on a government payroll should be allowed in the Leglislature.

The state is looking at more than $3 billion in needs for transportation improvements, most of it in southern Nevada. How should the state fund those projects or should it?

Road building and maintenace should be financed by fuel taxes and auto license fees on a prorated basis, those funds should not be diverted to any other purpose. Southern Nevada should receive no more than its share.

Contact information:

882-8406

scrabin2@aol.com