Election Guide News, voter information MARK WAITE / PVT The stage was filled by local and regional candidates during a meet and greet at the Artesia Community Center Thursday night. Advertisement

Eleven of the 13 candidates running for the second Pahrump justice of the peace position filled the chairs during a candidate's meet and greet at the Artesia Community Center Thursday night.

Several candidates stressed their experience in law enforcement or the legal field to over 100 members of the audience. Another candidate forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Pahrump Nugget Casino.

* Louis DeCanio said he has taken his concerns about ethics to everyone from county commissioners to the Nevada attorney general's office to the FBI. DeCanio said he was a military policeman assigned to the stockade at Fort Leavenworth, Mo., and had to deal with the criminal element in his home town of Chicago.

"I'll make your streets safe, I'll make your town safe," he said.

* Linda DeMeo said Pahrump needs a night court and a justice of the peace that would be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to help victims of domestic violence.

DeMeo talked about her experience working for a national shipping company, finding crews for vessels, negotiating contracts for hazardous cargo, even dealing with ambassadors when they had stowaways.

* Michael Foley said he ran unsuccessfully for the J.P. position against the other Pahrump Justice of Peace, Tina Brisebill, in 2000 and 2006.

"I came in third out of a field of seven. I was disappointed, but looking back it's probably a good thing I didn't win because I wasn't ready," Foley said.

Foley said he has since taken courses in constitutional law, criminal law, civil law and business law. Foley noted he was named justice of the peace pro tem April 7, 2007, and attended the National Judicial College in May 2007.

"To date I've heard approximately 250 to 300 cases, everything from minor dog complaints all the way up to preliminary hearings on major felonies," Foley said.

* Frank Furcini said he has 38 years of experience in the criminal justice system. Furcini said he was born in a town outside Pittsburgh, Pa., then worked 11 years for the Honolulu Police Department and 16-1/2 years as an investigator for Hawaii.

Furcini said his last six years he worked in Clark County -- a year in the public administrator's office investigating death cases -- then went to work in the Clark County District Attorney's Office as a victim's advocate and later in domestic violence.

* Kent Jasperson said he was a Nye County deputy sheriff for 25 years. Every year he received continual updates and training in dealing with the law, he said.

"In addition to the training that we received, I got to go out into the streets and take the training that I had and use it with practical applications," Jasperson said.

Jasperson said he'd like to institute an online system for paying fines. Jasperson also endorsed night court, which he said would be good for deputies as well as defendants.

* Luanna Miller said she has almost 17 years' experience in the legal field, six years in an Arizona county attorney's office and the last 11 years in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Miller said she held several positions working for Las Vegas Metro, including the Quality Assurance Department.

"I was also a CASA, which is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for neglected and abused children. I did that for several years. I made recommendations to the court," she said.

Miller said she has a lot of ideas for the justice position but hesitated to share them until she got in office.

* Michael Neu said he's the only candidate who's a licensed attorney. Neu said he has a bachelor's and master's degree in sociology. He practiced law in Wisconsin for 17 years, then moved to Nevada where he took the bar exam in 1993. Neu said he's now a part-time attorney.

"Justice Court is run by the rules of civil procedure, the rules of criminal procedure and the rules of evidence. Some of the candidates think they can learn those rules by reading them. That's not how you learn them. You learn them by going through law school and getting grilled by a professor for three years, and then you learn by experience in the courtroom," Neu said.

Neu said the second justice will have to implement night court since there's presently only one courtroom.

* Dorothy Oriondo said she has a bachelor's degree in justice administration and has taken public administration classes as well as master's level classes in law.

"Should I be elected, by the time I finish my six-year term as justice of the peace I hope to be a licensed attorney in the state of Nevada," Oriondo said.

Oriondo said she also worked for the Honolulu Police Department, working in the crime scene investigation division. She was also a mobile notary, paralegal and worked in child custody cases. Oriondo said she worked on a complex litigation case in Hawaii involving rival community associations.

* Dennis Sugg said he moved to Pahrump from Fallon five-and-a-half years ago, to take over as a supervisor for the Nevada Highway Patrol.

"Fallon is pretty much a community about the size of Pahrump," he said. "I have approximately 20 years in law enforcement. I've seen crimes of all sorts. I've been involved in court cases of all different types."

Sugg said he has a degree in criminal justice and was a field training officer for the highway patrol for many years. He stressed the justice of the peace needs to be someone with ethics, morals and integrity.

* Barry "Bear" Waggoner said he's a Marine Corps veteran with a strong moral code and work ethic. Waggoner said he has 53 years of life experience, common sense and a fresh, unbiased approach.

"I'm not a career politician, nor do I have any experience as a police officer. This position, however, does not require previous legal experience. Any candidate upon being elected will be sent to school to learn the responsibilities of the position and how to perform them, which is followed by on-the-job-training and continued education."

* Warren Witthoeft said he was a Chicago police officer for 23 years and retired to Pahrump in 1999. In Chicago he worked with street patrol, the auto theft section, was a gang crime specialist and training officer.

"I was one of the initiating members of the CAPS system, which is the Chicago Alternative Policing System, which is where you get the community, the neighborhood, the police together to try to figure out the problems and what are the solutions to those problems. This is something I think could be continued here," Witthoeft said.

Witthoeft added he's a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War and has been involved as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts for over 25 years.