Candidate filings slow for first week

Filing for local offices has been slow through Thursday. These are the latest profiles of candidates who filed this week.

Jaime Dellera

Jaime Dellera filed Tuesday for Churchill County Recorder.

Dellera has worked in county government for 20 years. In 1993 she was hired by former County Clerk Ruby Anderson and since then, she has worked closely with many county departments, city councils, and commissioners, Dellera said. She participated in legislative efforts to enact laws governing the duties of local governments. Over the years

Dellera said she has maintained, processed and archived documents associated with various county offices. Dellera has been involved in the election process and believes in the integrity of the system and the rights of the people to question their government and voting procedures.

“I believe local government needs to be transparent, efficient, and accessible and offer the best customer service,” Dellera said.

Several years ago, Dellera said she made the decision to broaden her skills and experience. In 2006 she was hired by the Washoe County Clerk and has worked there for the last seven years where she supervises up to four employees, managed a million-dollar budget and maintains and preserves hundreds of thousands of documents.

“I have learned the statutes regarding retention schedules and records preservation, as well as archival technology for private, public and government documents,” Dellera said.

Dellera was born and raised in Fallon, and her family has lived in the valley for four generations. She is married and has two daughters and a stepson, who also live in Nevada.

She said while her children were growing up she volunteered as a 4-H Leader for 10 years, was a girls’ softball coach for nine years and continues to be involved with local youth events and charities.

“I was part of the founding formation of the Silver State International Rodeo,” Dellera said “I’ve also helped for many years with the Fallon Junior Rodeo Association and the Nevada State High School Rodeo Association.”

She graduated from Churchill County High School and attended Great Basin Community College in Elko.

“I am fortunate to be the daughter of parents who also believe in community and public service,” Dellera said, “who taught me the importance of community service, work ethics, hard work, family and pride.”

“My father, Lyle de Braga, continues to farm the family ranch and served as a deputy reserve sheriff for 20 years, served on the school board and many other local boards. Her mother, (the late) Marcia de Braga, served in the state Legislature as an asssemblywoman for 10 years.

Dellera said she is confident her years of experience, dedication and passion for the work she has done will serve her well.

“I am ready to put my skills and experience to work for the benefit of Churchill County as the next county recorder,” Dellera said.

Denise Mondhink-Felton

Denise Mondhink-Felton filed on Monday for Churchill County Assessor, an office held by Norma Green, who is retiring.

Mondhink-Felton has worked for the county for five years, initially as a legal secretary in the Civil Division of the district attorney’s office. For the last four years she has been employed in the Churchill County Assessor’s Office.

“This provided me the opportunity of returning to more of an accounting-related field which I feel is one of my strongest assets,” Mondhink-Felton said.

She began in the assessor’s office in administration before being promoted to assistant appraiser and then to a real property appraiser. Mondhink-Felton said she has benefited from the guidance and instruction of the current assessor and chief deputy assessor.

“I am a certified Nevada appraiser of both real estate and personal property,” she said. “I have served on numerous committees at the county and I am a former chair of the Employee Management Committee.”

In addition to her experience with the county, Mondhink-Felton said she has a broad background in the private sector, working 14 years for A&K Earth Movers, Inc., as the accounts payable manager, equipment accounting manager and accounting manager.

Mondhink-Felton said her grandparents, Chet and Vi Knittle, homesteaded in Dixie Valley, and her family has been calling Fallon home since 1952. She was raised in Churchill County, graduated from Churchill County High School and attended Western Nevada College. She enjoys spending time with her daughter, son and family. She said together she and her husband support their children in sports, particularly rodeo. She also enjoys gardening and classic cars.

In addition to her accounting and appraisal experience, Mondhink-Fulton said she has strong computer skills that will allow her to perform the duties of assessor with a high efficiency. She said the Churchill County Assessor’s Office has the reputation of being one of the best in the state is due to its outstanding staff. She said her goal is to continue to serve the residents of Churchill County with the same commitment of service afforded by the retiring Assessor Norma J. Green.

“I have every confidence that Denise is completely capable of taking over in an efficient and seamless manner and will be a credit to the citizens of Churchill County,” Green said.

Tasha Hessey

Tasha Hessey entered the race on Monday for Churchill County recorder to succeed the retiring Joan Sims.

Hessey is the current deputy recorder and has been there for seven years. She said with the upcoming retirement of Sims, it was the right time to go for the position.

“I have been training with Joan to take over the position for the last two years,” Hessey said.

Hessey said with her current position as deputy recorder, her responsibilities include the following: recording documents such as deeds, water deeds, deeds of trust, liens and maps just to name a few. She said recorder has 365 different document types, which they record unpatented and patented mining claims for Churchill County. She also records documents for the assessor’s office, the planning department and the clerk’s office, all of the County Commission resolutions and ordinances are recorded through her department. Hessey said there are state and county requirements that must be followed for recording documents, and she is responsible for indexing all of those documents into their database for in-person and on-line researching.

As the custodian of public records, Hessey said she will make a commitment to provide quality service, accurate and retrievable records and maintain a resourceful database online or in-person for researching.

“I understand that public service requires a willingness to understand and meet the needs of constituents while adhering to county and state laws,” Hessey said. “I believe county government has an obligation to the public to provide its services in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible.”

She currently serves as the secretary for the Employee Management Committee, where she records the minutes, handles the agendas and puts together the annual Jim Regan Golf Tournament.

Hessey was born and raised in Churchill County and graduated from Churchill County High School in 1999. She said her husband, Sean, and daughter, Alexa, fully support her decision to run for recorder.

Hessey said with Sims blessing and training she knows she is qualified and ready to become the next Churchill County Recorder.

“This past year I have completed the recorder’s office monthly, quarterly and year end reports. As well as the mining and State of Nevada Department of Taxation reports,” Hessey said. “My experience and knowledge makes me an ideal candidate for the office.”