Rush of new candidates as filing period ends

By Dave Frank

Appeal Staff Writer

Filing for Carson City offices up for election this year ended Friday with a rush of candidates for mayor and the two supervisors seats.

Six out of 14 candidates who filed did so on the last day of the two-week period. They included Molly Walt, Andrew Salm and Paul McGrath for Ward 4 supervisor; Adam Baker, who had initially filed for mayor, and Dennis Johnson for Ward 2 supervisor; and Pete Hansell for mayor.

All but two of the candidates - incumbent Ward 2 Supervisor Shelly Aldean and incumbent Ward 4 Supervisor Richard Staub - are challengers. Many of them described themselves as fresh, honest candidates ready to listen to residents.

Mayoral candidate Steve McClung, a locksmith, said he "just wanted to make Carson City a better place to live" and understood how important that was as an average citizen.

He said he is so blue-collar that he doesn't even own a tie.

"But I won't embarrass (the city) as mayor," he said. "I clean up real nice."

The board needs to trim down staff, Hansell said, and focus on management to be most efficient. The city should also stop giving economic incentives to businesses, he said, so there can be "a level playing field."

Johnson, a consultant, said as supervisor he would make sure the city didn't misuse taxpayer money.

But Aldean and Staub both said while it's easy to call for change, the current board has managed the city well, particularly during the sales tax slump and budget problems over the past year.

The board has cut expenses without firing anyone, and fixed a $3 million shortfall in the budget, they pointed out.

Staub's challengers could not be reached for comment Friday, but Aldean's challengers both said the city needed both better fiscal responsibility and new representatives to make the city better.

"People are sick of the status quo and they're ready for a change," Baker said.

The primary election Aug. 12 will narrow down the race to two candidates for each seat, though a candidate can win in the primary by getting more than 50 percent of the vote. The general election is Nov. 4. All city offices are nonpartisan.

Election and candidate information is available at the election department's Web site: www.carson-city.nv.us/Index.aspx?page=90.

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

The candidates

Mayor

Bob Crowell

Pete Hansell*

Ken Haskins

Sean Lehmann

Steve McClung

Jim Shirk

Ward 2 supervisor

Shelly Aldean (incumbent)

Adam Baker*

Dennis E. Johnson*

Ward 4 supervisor

Jean Bondiett

Paul McGrath*

Andrew Salm*

Richard Staub (incumbent)

Molly Walt*

*Filed for office Friday