Election Guide News, voter information MARK WAITE / PVT Rotary Interact Club members assisted with the candidates forum at the Pahrump Nugget Tuesday night. Pictured from left are Maria Melgar, Tim Rivers and Angie Musumeci. MARK WAITE / PVT Pahrump Town Board hopefuls, from left, Sean Brooks, Mike Darby, Vicky Parker and Don Rust sit at the podium at the Pahrump Nugget events center. Advertisement

Pahrump Valley Rotary Club moderator Bob Little told candidates in the Nov. 4 election their questions would be generic ones that could be asked of all candidates instead of targeting a specific person -- part of the Rotary Club four-way test of being fair to all concerned.

But some questions seemed to be targeted at specific candidates during the fourth and possibly last candidates forum Tuesday night at the Pahrump Nugget Casino.

Incumbent 5th District Judge John Davis thanked Pahrump voters, who first elected him to office in 1990. He said the toughest cases involve family court. While it's easy to figure out sentences for murderers and rapists, it can be trickier for the suspect accused of vehicular manslaughter, he said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not perfect. I do not walk on water. I make mistakes. That's why we have a Supreme Court," Davis said. But he added, "I've never had an agenda of taking advantage of anything for my personal benefit."

His opponent, Senior Deputy District Attorney Marla Zlotek, said she's been a lawyer 15 years, a Pahrump resident for 13 years, finished in the top 3 percent of her class and taught a class at the Nye County Regional Training Academy.

"I believe I can be a good judge because I work hard, I'm respectful to others and I'm fair and impartial," she said.

The judicial candidates were asked: Will each complete a six-year term?

"I'll know when it's time to retire," Davis said. "I'm an old horse, maybe long in the tooth, but I've got a lot of miles left in me."

Zlotek said she would definitely finish her term.

She said it could speed up the caseload when a second district courtroom opens in Pahrump.

But Davis said, "It's very illusory to say that having both judges down here will result in any savings or any expediting at all."

He noted 29 percent of his cases are north of Pahrump, all the way into Mineral County.

But he added, "What would help a great deal would be to have a reasonable courtroom so I could come down, hold trials and do my work without having to interfere with Judge Lane and his court."

Kent Jasperson, candidate for Pahrump justice of the peace, emphasized his volunteerism during his 28 years in Pahrump, with Pahrump Little League, AYSO soccer, the high school rodeo club, Nye County Search and Rescue and as a volunteer fireman.

"I'm the only one running for this position that has experience actually working in the justice system here in Pahrump," Jasperson said. He added, "This will allow me to make rational decisions based on those facts as presented without any outside conflicts or influence."

His opponent, Linda DeMeo, said, "I know I do not have all the experience of doing civil law, criminal law, but this is all on the Internet and I have been studying it, and I know I can best suit your position as your justice of the peace because I don't have a 'them and us' mentality. I can be fair and impartial. I do not have any family who is a member of the Nye County Sheriff's office. My husband is an elected official."

The wife of Sheriff Tony DeMeo said conflict of interest is defined as a fiduciary relationship between two parties.

"There is no economic interest between me and my husband and the sheriff's office," DeMeo said.

County commission candidates talked about modifying or eliminating impact fees to attract businesses during these hard economic times.

They all said expanding the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission countywide wouldn't be a good idea. Candidates also disapproved raising the tax cap above $3.64 per $100 of valuation.

Nye County Commission District 1 candidate Lorinda Wichman said, "District 1 needs a representative that can devote full-time to this position. That's what I intend to do when January rolls around and I win the election. I will be leaving Round Mountain Gold."

Wichman said she learned how county government works as an administrative aide for the county in 2001-2002.

Her opponent, history professor Rob Mobley, said, "My oppponent may know how to work within the system -- I teach the system. I know how it works, I know why it's there.

"I'm able to analyze details and get a greater understanding of the information that's presented. That's my job. I know bringing my background as a historian, as an analyst, as a researcher is going to be beneficial to the community at large, not to mention the fact this is the first time a Carver hasn't run for this position in almost three decades."

The District 1 incumbent, Roberta "Midge" Carver, was appointed to the position following the death of her husband, the late Dick Carver, by former Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Wichman said the county needs a person with business experience, recalling how she started a business in Idaho in 1987 that ballooned into a company with 200 clients.

Mobley said, "I would look at the legality of me being able to pander to businesses, say come to Pahrump, we need your services. Literally go out, see what needs to be done and actively pursue companies to come here."

District 3 incumbent Gary Hollis said he will meet with state District Engineer Tracy Taylor Monday to discuss water issues and present results of county test wells funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

"They have not asked us for any of that data, but they continue telling us that Amergosa Valley and surrounding basins are overappropriated. How do they know that?" Hollis asked.

His opponent, Harley Kulkin, the owner of Servco, a heating and air-conditioning company, said he's a successful businessman because he provides solutions, not excuses.

"I don't believe in raising taxes because that's compensating for failure. As an example, we collect a 6.75 percent sales tax. Well, we need to increase that base, not raise the penalty on people," Kulkin said.

He said county commissioners are supposed to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community, but they voted to change the county code, removing a 9.5-mile minimum distance between correctional facilities and residences.

Hollis, a man of fewer words, said he wants to see the sales tax numbers for Home Depot to see how the county budget will fare in this fiscal year.

Kulkin charged Nye County is broke, waiting on a new agreement for the payment equal to taxes from the DOE for the land value of Yucca Mountain. He charged the county was diverting impact fee money for the general fund.

Hollis said he sat on a federal impact advisory board and saw other communities were offering incentives, like a reduction in utility rates, to move to their towns.

Kulkin said a planning commission could be expanded countywide, if his plan to divide Nye County around Beatty was adopted.

"We'd be small enough, we could do that," Kulkin said.

Nye County Commission District 2 incumbent Joni Eastley cited her long list of committee appointments: Nevada Association of Counties past president; chairman and a founder of the Cenetral Nevada Regional Water Authority; Nevada Airport Association chairman; Nye County Commission chairman; U.S. Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Council; rural subcommittee member on legal indigent defense; member of the Nevada Department of Transportation 50-year visioning team; and participant in a summit on North American wildlife policies.

"I spend a significant amount of time on the road and I hope someday my husband can forgive me for that," Eastley said. "There is only one reason why I do these things, because when I'm at the table that means you all are at the table too."

Eastley's opponent, Jim Petell, hasn't shown up for any of the candidate forums.

Eastley said the county needs to streamline the planning process, reducing the red tape and bureaucracy so businesses don't look elsewhere, like Mesquite.

Pahrump Town Board candidates Mike Darby and Sean Brooks both said the panel needs to do a better job listening to the constituents. Vicky Parker said she's a "professional volunteer," a retired businesswoman who has been keeping an eye on the town board for six years.

The only board incumbent, Don Rust, thanked his wife Francis for saving his life when he had a heart attack two years ago.

Besides the fairground project, Rust was pushing a new waste management system with more recycling options.

Town board candidates say they're waiting for the results of an incorporation study by the University of Nevada, Reno. Darby said it's up to the voters to decide.