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March 28, 2024 3:39 pm
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EDITORIAL: Cooler heads have prevailed, thank goodness!

Finally, some down-to-earth moderation and common sense has at last prevailed in the wild and raucous Assembly District 36 drama!

Last week, all three County Commissions in District 36 agreed with one voice to appoint Greg Hafen as the Assemblyman to fill the vacancy left by the death of Nye County brothel-owner Dennis Hof. Even four out of the five Commissioners from Nye County, the central spot in the emotionally-charged drama, agreed on Hafen. That is really something!

Of course, it was not without a great outcry from the right-wingers of Pahrump who had their hopes hanging on Dennis Hof surrogate Joe Burdzinski. They spent more than an hour of public comment time at Wednesday’s Nye County Commission hearing ranting up and down and gnashing their teeth over the decision. But the Commissioners stood firm to their middle ground path and would not be intimidated.

Hafen truly is the best man for the job. And whether the Pahrump folks recognize it or not, Hafen is the best choice even for their fine community. Though he is young, Hafen has had a broad range of experience. That is not just political party experience in stirring up intrigues within the Nye County GOP. Rather it is real, on-the-ground experience in substantive areas that Nye County folks are really interested in.

While Hafen will have a bit of a learning curve ahead of him to fully digest and understand the issues important the Moapa Valley voters, the experience on his resume will also be directly applicable to most of the struggles that we face here as well. Hafen has the rural sensibilities that are essential in representing not only Pahrump but also the outlying areas in Clark and Lincoln counties.

He understands the differences and seems to care enough to actually take on our issues. And with his extended Hafen family reaching even into nearby Virgin Valley, at least he knows where Moapa Valley is. That’s a definite plus!

Perhaps most importantly, Hafen has not bound himself down to hold fast to some random political dogma as he takes his seat in Carson City. That will be particularly useful given the stark, Democrat-controlled landscape he will be facing there.

With a Democrat in the Governor’s office and a Democrat-dominated Legislature, taking an unyielding pledge on taxes; or holding rigidly to almost any other single issue; will be impractical and unwise. Such a position will tend to marginalize hard-line candidates and neutralize any influence that they may have had a the Legislature.

Mr. Hafen is wise enough, and experienced enough, to realize that he should keep an open mind in this regard. In doing so he reserves a stronger negotiating position for matters that are essential to the District 36 communities.
We congratulate Mr. Hafen on his appointment and we look forward to working closely with him in the upcoming session.

We also commend Commissioners from all three counties for keeping their heads, weathering the storm, and considering what was best for ALL of District 36; and not just the one vocal faction in Pahrump.

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1 thought on “EDITORIAL: Cooler heads have prevailed, thank goodness!”

  1. Brian K Shoemake

    I have to take issue with the comment regarding the so-called “right-wingers” of Nye County having their hopes on Hof supporter Joe Burdzinski. You are so off base in that remark I almost don’t know where to start. There are thousands of us so-called “right-wingers” here in Nye County and Pahrump who would NEVER support a person like Joe Burdzinski for ANY office. Without going into all the reasons why in this post, just take my word that those loud and obnoxious uninformed people who spoke up at the meeting of the County Commissioners not only do not represent us, they are NOT “right-wingers” by any stretch. They are mostly made up of a patchwork of Ron Paul Libertarians, Democrats, and disenfranchised anarchists with a few Republicans mixed in. They certainly DO NOT represent the conservative movement or the Republican Party which hasn’t had an effective party in years. Please don’t mix those of us who support President Trump and the Republican Party in with those loud mouth activist liberals and libertarians. We now have a great man as our Assemblyman for District 36 who has been in the community for a very long time. His grandfather Timothy Hafen was our Assemblyman back in the ’70s and was one of the founders of this valley. As a local businessman, Gregory Hafen comes with a wealth of talent as well as the respect and backing from this community. We finally ended this long drawn out circus on a high note. God works in strange ways, but he always comes through.

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