LAS VEGAS – The Service Employees International Union, Nevada (SEIU) today released their first round of political endorsements for federal state and local offices. The SEIU Executive Board voted overwhelmingly to provide early endorsements to 24 incumbent candidates for federal, state and local offices. SEIU’s Executive Board also unanimously endorsed 21 judicial candidates for seats on the Clark County District Court, the Family Division of the District Court as well as for the Justice of the Peace seats in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.
Early Endorsements for Pro-Worker Candidates The nonpartisan early endorsement process recognized Democratic and Republican candidates for office with the strongest records on the issues that matter to SEIU members, including improving health care and protecting public services. The list of candidates receiving an “early endorsement” includes Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, 21 members of the Nevada State Assembly (listed below) and Clark County Commissioners Tom Collins and Bruce Woodbury.
“I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the members of SEIU, who play such a vital role in caring for our community,” said Ruben Kihuen, Nevada State Assemblyman from Las Vegas. “I am excited to partner with SEIU Nevada this election year to work towards building a better future for working families in Nevada.”
An Expanded Focus on Judicial Endorsements This is the first year that SEIU, which represents District Court clerks as well as other District Court employees, has had such an extensive focus on judicial candidate endorsements. Large committees of SEIU Nevada members, including many Courts employees, interviewed 64 judicial candidates over two days before making their endorsement recommendations to the Executive Board.
“As a District Court Clerk, I know how important it is to elect judges who share our values of building a fairer, more effective courts system,” said Tina Hurd, a member of the SEIU Nevada member and employee of the Clark County District Courts for more than 17 years. “But it isn’t easy for voters to know which candidates will make the best judges, and which judges already on the bench are doing a good job. I was very excited to participate in such an extensive interview process with the candidates, and hope that SEIU’s endorsements will help voters make educated decisions in the judicial races.”
More Endorsements to Come In the coming weeks, SEIU Nevada members will be interviewing additional candidates for federal, state and local offices across the state. At forums in both Reno and Las Vegas, all members will have the opportunity to meet candidates and make endorsement recommendations to the SEIU Nevada Executive Board. A final list of endorsed candidates is expected in June. SEIU Nevada’s 17,500 represented workers are planning extensive campaign activities on behalf of many endorsed candidates in both the primary campaigns and general election in November.
SEIU Nevada is the fastest-growing union in the state, representing more than 17,500 healthcare and public services employees. For more information, please visit www.seiunv.org.
Full List of Endorsed Candidates
Nevada State Congress
Shelley Berkley, CD1
Nevada State Assembly
Bernie Anderson, AD31
Kelvin Atkinson, AD17
David Bobzien, AD24
Barbara Buckley, AD8
John Carpenter, AD33
Jerry Claborn, AD19
Mo Denis, AD28
Tom Grady, AD38
Joe Hogan, AD10
William Horne, AD34
Ruben Kihuen, AD11
Marilyn Kirkpatrick, AD1
Ellen Koivisto, AD14
Mark Manendo, AD18
Kathy McClain, AD15
Harvey Munford, AD6
John Oceguera, AD16
James Ohrenschall, AD12
Peggy Pierce, AD3
Tick Segerblom, AD9
Debbie Smith, AD30
Clark County Commission
Bruce L. Woodbury, A
Tom Collins, B
District Court
Elissa Cadish, Dept. 6
Linda Marie Bell, Dept. 7
Doug Smith, Dept. 8
William Kephart, Dept. 10
Mark Ralph Denton, Dept. 13
Donald Mosely, Dept. 14
Tim Williams, Dept. 16
Michael Willani, Dept. 17
Stefany Miley, Dept. 23
Kathleen Delaney, Dept. 25
District Court, Family Division
Amy Mastin, Seat G
Cynthia Guiliani, Seat K
Jennifer Elliott, Seat L
Frank Sullivan, Seat O
Jack Howard, Seat P
Bryce Duckworth, Seat Q
Brigid Duffy, Seat R
Justice of the Peace, Henderson
David Scott Gibson, Dept. 3
Justice of the Peace, Las Vegas
Melissa Saragosa, Dept. 4
Diana Sullivan, Dept. 12
Justice of the Peace, North Las Vegas
Christopher Lee, Dept. 3