Assembly candidates take stances on economy, affordable housing

Asked what the critical issues are facing Nevada, Republican Assemblyman for District 40, P.K. O’Neill, and Democrat challenger Katherine Ramsey gave different answers at a public forum on Wednesday.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Nevada, Sierra Nevada Forums and AAUW Capital (NV) Branch presented the free election forum, one of four co-sponsored by the Nevada Appeal. Wednesday’s event was moderated by Anne Macquarie. More than 120 people attended at the Brewery Arts Center, and the debate can be watched on the Appeal’s YouTube page at https://youtu.be/GkW0WlxWjFI?si=aoiyZxjY_8_zmP5d.

A more than 40-year resident of Carson City, O’Neill, who retired from law enforcement, has served for three regular sessions and several special sessions of the Legislature, currently serving as minority leader in the Assembly.

Ramsey has more than 10 years of experience owning Summerson Transport Inc., a small trucking company based in Nevada. Ramsey also has experience in accounting and compliance, medical billing and teaching finance at the community college level.

O’Neill said the economy is the critical issue facing the state.

“And the last several years, we have been working diligently, and I think been doing an excellent job of diversifying our economy,” said O’Neill. “For those of you who remember when we were just dependent upon gaming and mining, come recessions, our economy looked like an EKG. It went up during the good years, and it dropped like a rock during the bad years, and we were the last nationally to always recover because of (being) so dependent on that spending, that free spending for gaming, and mining catching up on their needs.”

O’Neill pointed to clean tech, green energy, IT and server farms as examples of a diversifying economy.

“That’s where we need to provide a workforce and development for them and education and opportunities, and we have, and we will continue to do that to improve our economy,” he said.

Ramsey described her critical issues as education, mental health and affordable housing, mentioning the Carson City master plan update producing more “mixed use” options.

“Overall, our economy thrives when people have a stable home that they know they won’t have to move out of in a year, when they know they can hang their pictures on the wall and that if they get a new puppy and it pees on the rug, the landlord is not going to keep their entire deposit,” Ramsey said.

A follow-up question asked for policies at the state level to “increase the availability of affordable, quality housing.”

O’Neill argued land was critical to housing solutions and that the federal government should make more land available.

“Unfortunately, 85 percent, roughly, of this state is owned by the federal government,” he said. “Even here in Carson City, the majority of the land of Carson City is owned by the federal government. It’s getting them to release that and not taking years to do it. That’s one of the first issues we got.”

O’Neill added: “I think next session you’re going to see one of the big issues is reducing the onerous regulations for a house to be built including for the workforce on what they are required (to do).”

On the latter point, O’Neill gave the example of electricians out of state having to navigate new regulations when coming to Nevada. This contributes to an electrician shortage, he argued.

Ramsey pointed to the Ormsby House as a property not being utilized. She hoped the master plan update in the city could help struggling properties and proposed “releasing or pressuring when possible some of the privately held land that we have that’s in prime locations in Carson City like the Ormsby House.”

“If you’re not going to use it or sell it, make it available for the city to use and get property tax and retail use for,” Ramsey said.

O’Neill rebutted: “That’s private property. That’s private enterprise. If they want to sit on it, they can sit on it. I do not think the state should be coming in and interfering with private property.”

Asked to clarify the Ormsby House idea, Ramsey sent a statement to the Appeal on Thursday that said: “Work with the city to offer a targeted tax break upon completion of a substantial renovation. Work with the city to officially get it designated as blight. Legislators would have to act as a mediator on this as it is much more of a city issue.”

The two candidates appeared to agree on the lithium industry, critical to EVs, taking root in Nevada.

“What measures should the Nevada Legislature take to balance the economic rewards of mining for resources such as lithium with the potential adverse environmental impacts and disturbance of sacred lands of Nevada’s indigenous citizens?” was one question.

O’Neill said people want green energy but not in their backyards, referring to legal challenges of lithium mining projects in Northern Nevada and central Nevada.

“You got to make a choice,” he said. “Do you want green energy? Do you want to be dependent upon China? Do you want to be dependent upon Venezuela? Socialist, communist countries to provide the lithium for your batteries for your green energy? Or, do you want to make Nevada the supplier? Make Nevada’s economy the one that people look to to supply and solve the issues that are facing our country.”

Ramsey concurred.

“I agree with the fact that we have to be a lot more YIMBY than NIMBY,” Ramsey said. “We have to be more ‘yes in my backyard.’ We need to bring many of the goods and services that were outsourced and lost back into our country, and Nevada can lead the way in lithium.”

Ramsey suggested Nevada use a permanent fund dividend for lithium mining as Alaska does for its residents. The Alaska dividend comes “from investment earnings of mineral royalties,” according to that state’s website.