Election 2012: Lyon County Commissioner, District 1

Occupation: Manager, Document Control, Ebara International, Inc.

Email: ninergold3@gmail.com

Website: www.bobhastingsnv.com

Explain your background and how this qualifies you for the position you are seeking.

My major in college was Design and Drafting Technology. Since then, I have devoted the past 25 years to a rewarding career in the manufacturing industry. My areas of focus have been from small-scale manufacturing of electronics through the highly technical medical device field and now large-scale manufacturing of liquid natural gas pumps for ships and land based facilities. I have worked at a management level for the past 15 years assisting in the development of multi-million dollar budgets. As a document control manager, I have worked with internal company documents as well as documents associated with outside regulatory agencies such as FDA, ISO, and US Federal. I understand regulations and how to successfully comply with them to optimize business productivity. Finally, I am a certified internal auditor. My training in auditing allows me to identify the true root cause of an issue, fix it correctly and not simply apply a Band-Aid to a recurring problem.

What are the top 3 issues facing the county, what should be done to resolve them?

1) Jobs: Without a doubt, JOBS are the No. 1 issue for Lyon County residents. Presently, we sit at a reported unemployment rate of 14.9%. Unfortunately, we know it is actually much higher. We, as Lyon County residents, hate the term "bedroom community" but that is what we have become. Too many people must rely on jobs in Carson City, Sparks and Reno. That is because we have not been effective in recruiting new businesses, while supporting and retaining established businesses, to our county. Job creation goes hand-in-hand with issue No. 2, economic development. Until the county makes this a priority, we will always be in danger of being the hardest hit county in Nevada during an economic downturn.

2) Economic Development: In addition to job creation, economic development means growing sustainable businesses that will bring quality jobs, create revenue, building alliances between the county, schools and business to develop the education piece, and work to improve the infrastructure (like USA Parkway). My opponent will tell you this cannot be accomplished as there are no funds. That is why we must view this as a long-term project and not bury our heads in the sand and give up. Economic development will take time, but the foundation and process must begin now with new leadership.

3) Communication: Through no fault of their own, most citizens in Lyon County have little knowledge as to what their county government is doing. Meetings are held in the middle of the day, there are no webcast or audio files available in a timely manner. Bullet point notes of Board of Commissioner meetings are available, usually four weeks or so after a meeting. You can get an audio copy of meetings for a price. It makes us feel as though they don't want us to know what is going on. This is unacceptable. I believe all meetings should be made available via audio or video immediately and I will work to make this possible.

Why should voters choose you over the other candidates?

What Lyon County needs are leaders with vision and a plan to grow the economy, bring jobs to the county and manage a budget that, with all of its issues, will allow us to move forward and become a self-sustaining county. My 25 years of experience in management and manufacturing will allow me to be that person. I understand how to take shrinking revenues and budgets and make the necessary adjustments to allow for stability, growth and new jobs. My auditing background will assure that we are looking at the true issues and not simply applying short-term solutions to surface-level problems.

Lyon County is a wonderful community with great potential for all. I hope you share my vision of growth, prosperity and new jobs for our county. If you do, I humbly ask for your vote for Lyon County Commissioner - District 1 on Nov. 6th.

Occupation: Lyon County Commission District 1

Explain your background and how this qualifies you for the position you are seeking.

I currently serve on the Lyon County Board of Commissioners, as chair. I also serve several other ex officio positions, including serving as a director of the Carson Water Subconservancy District, as chair, and as a director of the Dayton Valley Conservation District. I engage in continuing education, including public finance, and have experience in over 32 public budgets. I have served six years as a Lyon County Planning Commissioner and have served six additional Lyon County board appointments, including nine chairmanships, during my 14 uninterrupted years of community service to Lyon County. I have approximately 20 years of public service, which includes my service as a Nevada peace officer and volunteer fireman. I carry with me the experience, training and relationships that have resulted from such service.

For the past 29 years, I have owned and managed a manufacturing business in Lyon County, wherein I engage in all matters of public relations, staff management and fiscal responsibility. In managing a very competitive business, I am required to identify and resolve conflicts before any reach a crisis stage, act quickly and decisively on any market or conditional changes, and stretch each dollar to its maximum benefit.

What are the top 3 issues facing the county, what should be done to resolve them?

The generally accepted belief this election cycle seems to indicate that the top issues are high unemployment, declining revenues that result in budget conflicts and economic development.

While I agree that these issues are paramount in the larger picture, they are multi-county and symptomatic of more complex underlying issues, of which not all can be addressed at the local level. The county continues to address these issues.

In my opinion, the top three issues facing Lyon County that should be addressed directly and immediately are as follows:

1) The 2013/2014 budget, including the unfunded mandates that have and could continue to be placed upon the County by the State.

Unfunded mandates are a serious issue that the county is preparing to address. The county must continue to work closely with the Legislature and partner-counties in mitigating budgetary issues. The Board of Commissioners will, for the first time, be required to set priorities of services as a matter of policy. Public safety has and will likely continue as the top priority.

I recommend that the commission, in the near future, set hearings to receive input from the citizenry regarding the levels of service to be provided under the pending budget constraints. The commission will then be required to identify those services that are mandated by statute, including other contractual obligations, and set those respective service/funding levels. The next step will be to identify the non-mandated but essential services and set those service/funding levels.

2) Infrastructure maintenance, improvements, and planning, of which roads and bridges are most urgent.

Road maintenance is at the top of this subset. There are few options available, and I recommend that the county and city of Fernley begin the process by exploring the possibility of a joint solution.

3) Development of a comprehensive strategic plan for all aspects of county operations and services, including economic development at a policy level, and water resources.

I believe a comprehensive strategic plan and its subordinate components are the most important issues facing the county today. However, that importance does not make them the most urgent. There are many other issues that are or will become more urgent in the near future. The plan, if properly developed, adopted, and followed, will provide the county with an orderly direction by which to grow and recover from the current economic cycle.

Why should voters choose you over the other candidates?

Completing my first term, I have fulfilled all promises and commitments made during my 2008 campaign and will continue to follow that path. Having lived in Lyon County for 29 years, I understand its regional diversities and will continue to represent all citizens.

I have worked my way through various levels of public service within Lyon County to the office of county commissioner. Being self-employed allows me the time to fulfill the duties of the office without interruption.

As an experienced commissioner, I understand the many issues facing local government. As a business owner, I understand the issues facing the private sector.

I am not a single-issue or limited-issue candidate. I am an evidence-based decision maker with a proven record of strong leadership. I have the experience, dedication, training and relationships to be a member of the commission that will lead Lyon County into the future.