By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
A crowd of more than 200 people gathered at the Old Logandale School on Saturday night for a Meet and Greet held by Moapa Valley Justice of the Peace candidate Gregor Mills.
“I wanted a chance to meet people in the community, get to know them and answer whatever questions that you might have of me,” Mills said in a brief speech to the crowd. “This seemed like a great way to do it.”
Mills is running for the seat being vacated by the honorable Judge Lanny Waite, who is retiring this year after more than thirty years on the bench. Mills is running against Judge Waite’s son, Kyle Waite.
Though a third candidate, Drue Solomon, will appear on the primary ballot, Solomon is no longer seeking the seat. Unfortunately, that decision was not made in time to have Solomon’s name removed from the ballot.
Saturday’s Meet and Greet was a dinner event. Members of Mills’ family and other volunteers served up an appetizing meal which went along with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. Included was traditional Irish faire of corned beef and cabbage. But there was also dutch oven potatoes, pit barbecued beef and pulled pork, salads and many other side dishes and desserts.
Mills spent most of his time during the event mingling with the crowd. But he did take a few minutes on stage to say a few words and answer general questions from attendees.
When asked how he would do things differently in the Moapa Valley court, Mills said he had a number of significant changes in mind.
One of the first changes he mentioned would be to the juvenile court procedures. Currently all of the juvenile cases are heard at the same time, with all of the youth, parents and attorneys sitting in the same room throughout the proceeding, Mills said.
“This allows everyone to hear how you are treating each juvenile,” Mills said. “I don’t think it is ever helpful, especially in a small community, to have everyone in the same room and then going out into the community and talking to all their friends about what happened there. I think that there is a more constructive and individual way to deal with that.”
Mills said that he would hear the juvenile matters one by one, on a case by case basis. Only the accused juvenile, his/her parents and, if necessary, the attorney would be present for each hearing.
Mills also mentioned that, in a trial, he would not be considering anything not presented in the courtroom during the trial.
“I won’t be meeting with the police in my office beforehand and I won’t discuss the case with an uncle or aunt of the defendant in the grocery store,” he said. “To me that would be unethical. I will only hear what is presented for a trial. For sentencing, anything can be considered. But the trial should be different.”
Another attendee asked Mills whether he would continue Judge Waite’s practice of allowing offenders a choice between serving six months in jail or leaving the jurisdiction for three years. Waite has called this the “Fresh Start Program” because, he says, it allows offenders an opportunity to get away from the bad influences in the community and to get a fresh start elsewhere.
But Mills said that he would not be continuing that practice. “I don’t think that I can do that if I am the judge,” he said. “If someone has committed a crime that is enough to land him six months in jail, I think it is unethical to just send him away from the jurisdiction with no conditions, no status checks, just leave. I don’t think it is right to just send them out there so that some other judge is going to have to deal with it.”
Instead, the offender must be dealt with by the local court; either by serving the jail time, or by receiving treatment to help that individual, Mills said.
During a brief introduction of the candidate, Gregor’s brother and law partner, Byron Mills touted Gregor’s 17 years of experience in practicing law in small justice courts throughout the region.
“There is no doubt that he is the most experienced candidate,” Byron said. “You name any justice court out there and he has been there arguing cases. There is not much that a Moapa Valley Justice of the Peace is going to see that Gregor hasn’t already dealt with.”
Many event attendees said that they had come with an open mind to hear what Mills had to say and try to learn more about the issues and where he stood on them. Many said that they had never met the candidate before and were glad for the opportunity to do so.
Logandale residents David and Arleen Carl admitted that they had not yet totally made up their minds. But they felt that Mills had communicated his views well.
“He carried himself well with all the questions,” said Arleen Carl, “and I liked a lot of what he had to say. He certainly seems to have the experience for the job.”
“It was a good crowd and very good food,” said David Carl. “I really enjoyed the event.”
Las Vegas attorney, Natalie Gottschalk, a relatively new resident to Moapa Valley, also said that she was still working through who she would vote for in the election. She said that Mills’ position on the “Fresh Start” program made sense to her.
“I have a daughter that is six years old and as a parent I am concerned with how drug offenses are dealt with here,” Gottschalk said. “I wanted to know whether he agreed with the idea of shipping offenders off too Las Vegas or to deal with them here. To me it is a very complex problem.”
Logandale resident Brandon Leavitt said that he likes Mills and appreciates his good character.
“The Mills family is a great family in the community and have been for a long time,” Brandon Leavitt said. “Of course, his dad was well respected as an attorney and Gregor comes from a great law family. They have always served the community well.”
After the event, Mills said that he was pleased with how it went.
“I know that it is hard for people to come out to a political event, especially in a race that is so close to home,” Mills said. “I just really appreciate everybody who showed up and took their time to become familiar with the issues that are important to me. There were a lot of people here that I had never met and I was glad to get to know those folks.”
