Congressman headlines Lincoln Day dinner

Congressman Mark Amodei of Carson headlined this year’s Churchill County Lincoln Day dinner on March 16 as he gave an update of news from the nation’s capital.

Amodei was scheduled to be a main speaker with Gov. Joe Lombardo, but because of unforeseen circumstances, the first-term governor was unable to attend the event sponsored by the Churchill County Republican Central Committee.

In addition to Amodei, many of the local Republicans and candidates running for state and local offices addressed the audience on their campaigns.

Amodei relied on his wit along with a serious look at the events occurring in Washington, D.C. He gave a rundown on the ascension of Congressman Mike Johnson, whom he didn’t know well, as the new Speaker of the House. Johnson was voted into the position in late October, replacing Kevin McCarthy.

“Mark, you have not followed me, but you are one of our senior guys,” Amodei said, after talking to Johnson during the change of speakers in the fall. “He has held the line on the border. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

As one of the most senior congressman in the West, Amodei said he has spent time on several lands bills which would transfer government-owned land to local municipalities and also discussed the future upgrade of the Nevada Air National Guard’s C-130 transport planes that are stationed in Reno.

“The C-130 business will go away if you don’t have the newest models,” he pointed out.

Along with other members of the Nevada delegation, Amodei said he’s fighting with the U.S. Post Office, which supports transferring the mail processing outgoing operations from Reno to Sacramento.

Fallon Mayor Ken Tedford, who’s running for re-election against two candidates, welcomed the dinner guests to Fallon and said Churchill County is very special.

“We enjoy living here so much,” Tedford said. “We’ve been able to keep the small-town charm.”

Tedford said Lombardo is doing a good job in Carson City and is looking out for the rurals.

“That’s very important for us here,” Tedford added.

The Fallon native touted the one city, one county type of government and said it’s easier for both to work together, talk to each other on a daily basis and “get things done.”

Tedford also referred to President Abraham Lincoln, for whom the Republican dinners are named, as a great president during his time in office in the 1860s.

State Sen. Robin Titus, District 17, and Assemblyman Greg Koenig, District 38, gave updates on their respective houses of government. Titus said it’s imperative for the Republicans to keep the Democrats from attaining a super majority, meaning they could easily override the governor’s veto. She urged the dinner guests to support the other races for state senate to ensure the Republicans can support the governor.

“We can’t afford Gov. Lombardo to be ineffective,” she warned.

Koenig is running unopposed for his second term in the Assembly.

“I appreciate the support, but we need to get back to Carson City and continue doing the work,” said Koenig, who had the highest percentage of bills passed by a Republican in the Assembly.

Sam Brown was the only candidate running for U.S. Senate who attended the dinner. He said it’s important for the nation to retain President Donald Trump and Amodei and other Republican officeholders.

Brown said inflation is high, the border between the U.S. and Mexico is wide open, and there’s too much spending.

Controller Andy Mathews explained the operations of his office and how it helps the state’s residents.

Local office seekers had an opportunity to say a few words about themselves and their races. Among the county’s key races are two for county commission and the other for Justice of the Peace. Matt Hyde and Julie Guerrero-Goetsch each spoke about their candidacy for the commission’s District 1 office, while Erick Blakely and Rusty Jardine addressed the audience with their reasons for running for the commission’s District 3 seat. Ben Trotter and Brenda Ingram each spoke about their candidacies for the Justice of the Peace.