Tuesday, October 05, 2004

IBEW Local 401 (Reno NV) Supports Retired Local 357 (Las Vegas) Electrician for State Board of Regents

Doug Hill and Bob Price claim their years of experience in public office make them the best qualified to represent Reno’s District 11 on the Nevada Board of Regents.

Hill, the incumbent, is pitting his two years on the Washoe County School Board before being elected regent in 1998 against Price’s nearly 30 years as a state assemblyman.

Hill said there are four and a half traits a person needs to be a good regent.

“You need to have courage, integrity, intelligence, good thinking processes, and the half trait is some courtesy and professionalism,” he said. “I have lived in this district for 25 years. I’m a CPA (accountant), a lawyer and I’ve been extremely effective as a regent.”

Price cites the variety of experience he has gained as a legislator.

“I like to think with my long background in public service in the Legislature and working on various commissions that I have proven to be someone who is interested in the public’s welfare and the input of our citizens, and that I can be depended upon to do the work.”

Price, who has diabetes and underwent a triple bypass after a heart attack in 1998, said his health will not be a factor in his ability to serve as a regent.

“I haven’t had any further problems with my heart since the surgery,” he said.

The two men are competing for a six-year term on the 13-member board of regents, who receive no pay. Regents get travel and daily expenses to attend monthly meetings throughout the state plus a $2,500 annual host account to pay such things as a lunch or gathering to discuss educational issues.

Hill and Price were the top finishers in a four-man race for the nonpartisan office in September’s primary.

Hill received 10,112 votes (46 percent) to Price’s 6,097 (27 percent). Sean Westwood, a 20-year-old University of Nevada, Reno student, had 4,509 votes (20 percent) and U.S. Postal Service supervisor Rajan Zed 1,458 votes (7 percent).

Hill and Price also spent the most in the primary, according to the reports on campaign contributions and expenses that they filed with the Washoe County voter registrar’s office.

Hill reported receiving $5,300, including $500 from former Washoe County School Board member Kay Louden; $400 from Bret Whipple, a regent from Las Vegas, $200 from Robert Dickens, the lobbyist for the University of Nevada, Reno. Hill reported spending $5,240 dollars on his primary campaign.

Price reported contributions totaling $1,750 and expenses of $700. His largest contribution was a $1,000 loan from his wife, Nancy, followed by $250 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 401.

Zed said he didn’t raise or spend any money on his primary run. Westwood reported receiving $1,414 in contributions that included $1,000 from the Nevada State Board of Education and $214 from Howard Rosenberg, one of Reno’s two representatives on the Board of Regents. Rosenberg’s term ends in 2008.

Rosenberg said he contributed money to Westwood, a 20-year-old UNR student who opposed Hill in the primary, because “he’s a youngster who wanted to run and I think it’s absolutely marvelous that kids get involved in politics — period. Imagine having a student who knows what students think, feel and go through sitting on the board that is responsible to them and for them.”

The contribution was not motivated by any animosity toward Hill, Rosenberg said.

“No, I never act out of animosity,” he said. “That’s a waste of time and energy.”

Hill said of Rosenberg’s campaign contribution, “This is America. Everybody gets to support whomever they want.”

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Name: Bob E. Price

Birthplace: DeLand, Fla.

Age: 67

Occupation: Retired electrician.

Education: Graduated from Cheyenne High School, Wyo.; attended Truckee Meadows Community College, Community College of Southern Nevada and Santa Monica Community College.

Experience: Nevada assemblyman from 1975 to 2003, member of the Interim Finance Committee, chairman of committees on Economic Development and Tourism, Taxation and Transportation.

Time in district: Two years

Family: Wife, Nancy; three daughters, three sons and six grandchildren.

Name: Douglas Roman Hill

Birthplace: Taft, Calif.

Age: 57

Occupation: Lawyer

Education: Bachelor’s degree in biology, master’s in business administration, accounting; Certified Public Accountant, law degree.

Experience: Washoe County School District trustee from 1988 to 1990. Past member of Planned Parenthood of Northern Nevada’s board of directors.

Time in district: 26 years.

Family: Wife, Susan; daughters, Alexis and Adrienne.

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