Three of six seats will be contested for positions on the Sparks City Council, and at least two of those spots will be guaranteed to go to newcomers to the board. Add in a spot on the State Assembly for District 13 and a new justice of the peace position and it should make for quite a lively election season.
The spots open on the city council are for Wards 1, 3 and 5. The primary elections are June 4, with the general election set for Nov. 8. In the primary elections, voters from the specific wards will vote for their preferred candidate. In the general election, the vote is city-wide.
In Ward 1, there are three candidates who have files to replace Julia Ratti, who announced months ago that she would not be seeking re-election. Vying for the seat are Donald Abbott, a professional photographer; Denise Lopez, who works for Hillary Clinton’s campaign; and Adam Khan, a former GOP chairman.
In Ward 3, incumbent Ron Smith with face off against John Rhoads. Smith has been on the council since 2006.
Ward 5 incumbent Ron Schmitt can’t be re-elected because of term limits, so three candidates will look to assume his seat: Kristopher Dahir, Thomas P. Lean and John Walter. Dahir is a representative of the Sparks Citizen Advisory Council, appointed by Councilman Smith. Walter is a 25-year resident of Ward 5 and Lean didn’t include any biographical information on the Washoe County website of candidate profiles.
City attorney Chet Adams is running unopposed for his position. In Justice of the Peace Department 2, incumbent Kevin Higgins is also running unopposed. There is a new Justice of the Peace Department 3 position available and Matt Lee and Jessica Longley have filed for the spot.
In State Assembly District 13, Ratti (D) announced she will run for election to replace the departed Debbie Smith. She is the only Democrat running, so she won’t face opposition until the general election, as will Libertarian Brandon Jacobs. Two Republicans will face off in the primary: Samantha Brockeslby and Kent Bailey.
Brockelsby is a nationally known female auctioneer and owner of Weathervane Auction House. Bailey works for Motorola Solution and has previous experience in government while living in Wyoming.
Mike Sprinkle, D-Sparks, is the incumbent in Assembly District 30 and is running unopposed, as is Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, in Assembly Districtt 32. In District 31, incumbent Jill Dickman, R-Sparks, will face off against former Assemblyman Skip Daly, D-Sparks, in the general election in November.
Lastly, in County Commission District 4, which includes Sparks, Spanish Springs and Wadsworth, incumbent Republican Vaughan Hartung will face Maurice Washington, also a Republican, in the primary. Whoever wins the vote will run unopposed in the general election, as there are no Democrats on the ticket.
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