Candidate Filing is upon us #Election2020

Correction: we originally stated Commissioner Bus Scharmann was finishing his first term. He will complete his second term this year. by Rachel Dahl -- If you feel like the 2020 election cycle has been in full swing for nearly a year now, you are not far off. Candidates have declared, hand kissing and baby shaking has begun, and a rash of candidate town hall meetings have taken over the airwaves during the past couple of days. Here in Nevada, the official filing dates for several offices begin next week, with others set for the first part of March. Filing for judicial races begins on January 6^th and run through January 17, 2020. According to Erin Montalvo, Deputy Clerk/Treasurer for Churchill County, candidates who file for seats in multi-district courts must file their declaration of candidacy with the office of the Secretary of State. In Churchill County, the 10^th Judicial District Court is limited to the county boundaries and filing for that seat, currently held by Judge Tom Stockard, must be made at the office of the Churchill County Clerk, located at 155 N. Taylor Street. Because Justice of the Peace Ben Trotter was just elected in 2018, and that term runs for a six-years, there will be no race for the Justice of the Peace. Both judge seats, JOP and 10^th District, run for six-years terms and are staggered, with the 10^th District up this year, 2020, and the JOP seat open again in 2024. Traditionally, 11 municipalities in the State of Nevada hold their municipal races in the spring of odd numbered years – with the last election being held during the spring of 2019. In the City of Fallon race, Karla Kent won the Ward 2 election against Jack Beach and Mayor Ken Tedford was unopposed. However, during the 2019 legislature, Assembly Bill 50 was passed moving Nevada municipal elections to the regular election year. According to Montalvo, the first time the City of Fallon will participate in an even-year election cycle with all other offices at the county, state, and federal level, will be the 2022 election. “Because of the legislation,” said Montalvo, “there will be no city election in 2021 and the sitting councilmen will get an extra year. The city will then fall in with the regular primary in June and general election in November of 2022.” Robert Erquiaga, who serves as the Legal and Administrative Director for the City of Fallon, concurred saying, “the next city election will be held on the November 2022 cycle with Ward 1 and 3 up for election. The Mayor and Ward 2 will be next up for election on the November 2024 cycle.” Candidate filing for the open county seats, including two county commission seats, three school board seats, and two mosquito abatement seats will open March 2, 2020 and run for ten days, closing on March 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Those candidates will file at the County Clerks office in Fallon at 155 N. Taylor Street. The open commissioner seats are currently held by Commissioner Bus Scharmann who is completing his second term, and Commissioner Carl Erquiaga who will be completing his third term and is term limited out, leaving an open seat. The Mosquito Abatement District seat held by Sheldon Chipp will be open as he is term limited, and the seat held by Marion Jonte is open. The school district Board of Trustees seats currently held by Phil Pinder, Tricia Strasdin, and Kathryn Whitaker are open as well. At the state level, Senator James Settelmeyer (R) was re-elected in 2018 to a four-year term serving District 17, and Assemblywoman Robin Titus (R), District 38 is running for re-election. Complete details and requirements for all of the official election information with filing dates, forms, and instructions can be found at the Secretary of State website for 2020 Election information. Stay tuned for more local coverage of #election2020, including features of the declared candidates for county commissioner seat 3, Kelli Kelly (D), and Greg Koenig (R).      Never miss a meeting or community event – keep an eye on the community calendar at https://www.thefallonpost.org/events/ If you like what we’re doing, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and contribute to The Fallon Post, your online news source for all things Fallon.