Guy Farmer: Endorsements for the primary election

I know and like so many of the candidates running for office in the June 9 primary election that it's difficult to write an endorsements column. Nevertheless, I'm going to write one because I believe it's a community newspaper's responsibility to take positions on local candidates and political issues.

But first, a disclaimer: My endorsements do NOT necessarily represent the opinions of the Appeal's management or the Nevada News Group.

Next, full disclosure: Two candidates, "PK" O'Neill, who's running to regain his District 40 seat in the State Assembly, and Ronni Hannaman, our dynamic and effective Chamber of Commerce manager who's running for Ward 2 supervisor, are close personal friends of mine and I'll be voting for them in the November general election, assuming they're on the ballot, as I believe they will be. I'm loyal to my special friends and will support them any way I can.

Supervisor Lori Bagwell is the obvious choice for mayor because of her experience and her knowledge of our city and local issues. She'll hit the ground running. A big plus for me is the fact that she was the only member of the Board of Supervisors with the courage – despite heavy pressure and spurious "Rule of Law" arguments – to vote against the commercialization of so-called "recreational" marijuana.

At the same time I congratulate three of her opponents – Tod Jennings, Nathaniel Kilgore and Aaron Sims – for making the sacrifices necessary to run for office, but they're not yet ready for prime time. I'm ignoring a fifth mayoral candidate on purpose; payback time.

Lisa Schuette, a Carson City native and retired schoolteacher who loves animals, has been active in civic affairs and was a prime mover in the push for a new animal shelter. She's my choice for supervisor in Ward 4.

Now, here are other candidates I know and like who are on the primary ballot in no particular order: Sena Loyd, Maurice White, Stacey Wilke-McCulloch and Day Williams. Sorry I can't endorse all of my friends, but that's not how it works.

Meanwhile, down in neighboring Douglas County, six-time loser Danny Tarkanian, a longtime Las Vegas resident, is running for the County Commission. Just one question: Can he make it seven?

On the national level, I'll be voting for our Northern Nevada Congressman, Carson City Republican Mark Amodei, in November because I think he represents us well in Congress. Although he's wishy-washy on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, which I oppose, Amodei usually has Nevada's best interests at heart, and none of the seven Democrats running against him can match his experience or knowledge of state and national issues.

At this point, six months before the Nov. 3 General Election, it looks as if our choice will be between President Trump, 73, and former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, two elderly and deeply flawed candidates for the presidency. Trump is a rude, crude bully who suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder and there are serious questions about Biden's mental acuity since he often has difficulty stringing two sentences together. Much depends upon how the president handles the Coronavirus crisis and whether Biden can survive sexual assault charges by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.

What is clear, however, is that there's an obvious mainstream media double standard between Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Vice President Biden. During the contentious Kavanaugh Senate committee confirmation hearings, "Me Too" ladies and Biden told us that women must be believed when they launch sexual assault charges. Now, however, we're urged to believe Biden's denials and downplay Ms. Reade's charges – the very definition of "hypocrisy."

Guy W. Farmer is the Appeal's senior political columnist.