Incumbents Joni Eastley and Gary Hollis will return to the Nye County Commission for another four-year term after Election Night victories Tuesday, while Lorinda Wichman will fill the vacant District 1 seat being vacated by Roberta "Midge" Carver.

Wichman, of Round Mountain, defeated Rob Mobley of Pahrump, 1,784 votes to 1,404, a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.

Wichman said she may step down from her position as governmental affairs representative for Round Mountain Gold Co. before she takes office in January, as she promised in the campaign, to be a full-time commissioner.

"I was surprised at how close it was, but I'm happy," she said.

Wichman credited her door-to-door campaign for her victory. She announced her candidacy early in the campaign, in April 2007, and spent Election Night at home on the ranch with her family.

"I am going to figure out this morning what my calendar holds for the rest of November, a NACO (Nevada Association of Counties) conference and a few things I learned about," Wichman said. "I'll put one foot in front of the other before I even get into December."

Mobley made an issue out of the fact three-quarters of the constituents in District 1 live in Pahrump. He said he had to carry two-thirds of the Pahrump voters to win. He speculated Wichman's 380-vote margin largely came from the north. (More detailed precinct results should be available by next week.)

"I needed that margin to negate the northern vote, because the northerners, they're going to vote for their candidate," Mobley said.

District 1 is a huge area that stretches from Ione to Duckwater in the north, then all the way down to eastern Pahrump.

Mobley also mentioned Wichman's fundraising advantage. "If I'd have spent $50,000, I would have won," he said.

Looking toward the next four years, Mobley said, "I'm sure it'll be the status quo. Was Midge ever down here except for a meeting?"

Nye County District 2 Commissioner Joni Eastley of Tonopah breezed to an easy victory over Jim Petell of Pahrump, winning 75 percent of the vote, 1,713 to 564, to win re-election to a third term. She was unopposed during the last campaign in 2004 and didn't campaign hard this time.

"I work very hard. This is my job. I spend a tremendous amount of time doing it, I'm committed to the work and I'm committed to the communities I represent, and I think they know that," Eastley said.

The budget and whether President-elect Barack Obama will shut down the Yucca Mountain project will be big issues in the next four years, she said, which could affect the county's $11.5 million annual payment equal to taxes from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Eastley said she doesn't like term limits but because of them she won't be able to run for re-election in 2012.

"I think my vote is a term limit. If I don't like a person I'm not going to vote for them. I think it will utlimately hurt the state of Nevada and it will ultimately hurt Nye County," she said. "It's difficult to get good qualified candidates to run."

Eastley applauded Carver's service on the commission.

"Midge did an excellent job in spite of the fact she had no background in politics," Eastley said.

She said it's a good thing Wichman will be stepping down from her job at Round Mountain Gold.

"Anybody who thinks they can serve the people of Nye County while working a full-time job, they're delusional. It can't happen," Eastley said.

Petell didn't campaign aggressively after the primary. He didn't think the result was a surprise, since his opponent's political power base lies in the three communities in the district, Tonopah, Beatty and Amargosa Valley. A slice of the district includes northwestern Pahrump, where Petell lives.

Petell said a group of residents should start working now on getting proper redistricting of Nye County Commission districts after the 2010 census and prevent gerrymandering.

"The campaign went smooth, there was no mud slinging in it at all, either of our parts. We did it as professional as we could," Petell said. "She didn't want to debate me if I paid her to do it."

Petell said it wasn't a coincidence he was served with charges of gaming fraud May 28, two weeks after he filed for the election.

Petell plans to stay active on the federal detention center issue and as a Valley Electric Association ambassador.

Nye County District 3 Commissioner Gary Hollis won re-election to a second term, defeating Harley Kulkin 1,876 to 1,559, a margin of 54 percent to 45 percent. District 3 is on the west side of Pahrump.

"He did very well running for the Assembly, I knew he wasn't going to be a pushover," Hollis said of Kulkin, who ran for the state Assembly in 2006 but lost in the Democratic primary. "I never take an election lightly. I go out and do my job."

Looking forward to his second term, Hollis said, "We've got to do something to keep our economy going locally, we've got to promote business, we've got to get those things going on the drawing board. We've certainly got to look at how we're going to put 14 solar projects in Amargosa Valley, Crystal."

An angry Kulkin, who moved into District 3 after he previously ran unsuccessfully for county commission District 1 in 2004, said, "I think I've wasted too much time with this town and I think it's time I go on, forget about trying to help people who don't want to be helped. It's time to focus on what I should've focused on a long time ago, my wife and my kids."

"I'm just a little guy. It boils down to this: honest people aren't welcome in politics," he said.

Kulkin bemoaned the apathy and said only 15 people showed up for a Pahrump Rotary Club candidate's forum.

Kulkin was arrested recently when he wasn't allowed back into the Bob Ruud Community Center to speak on a development agreement for a federal detention center. A Pahrump Democrat, Jane Wisdom, took out advertisements bringing up Kulkin's brushes with the law.

"Nobody cares any more. It wasn't that I needed a job, I wanted it because I have an inner calling to reach out and do what I can do. But I'm not Moses," Kulkin said. "It's all about money and everybody gets in on the act."