Rafael Arroyo

Democrats currently hold a veto-proof majority in the State Assembly and are one seat away from obtaining it in the Senate. If this were to happen, Governor Lombardo would be unable to veto bad legislation, meaning no checks and balances and total Democrat control with no moderation. Ensuring a balanced government will mean compromises and bipartisanship.

As a small business owner of over 15 years, I’ve worked diligently to bring new jobs to Nevada. Economic development and diversification are vital to ensuring the next economic downturn isn’t as harsh on our citizens. Gaming and Tourism will always be the centerpieces of our economy, but we must continue adding jobs outside those sectors. Increasing a new and diverse workforce that is free of red tape would decrease our dependency on gaming and tourism, making the state less reliant on visitors spending money here. I will champion economic development in the legislature, no matter how large or small the industry may be.

Nevada is known to be a low-tax and business-friendly state. Since I started my business, the regulatory processes at every level in the state have become overwhelming and burdensome, and we need to fix them. I have worked extremely hard in the last three legislative sessions as a private citizen to pass legislation that helped the Third Party DMV Registration Services industry grow and reduced unnecessary red tape created by a government agency. This gave Nevadans another option when it came to registering their vehicles at DMV and produced increased productivity for DMV technicians. We must do everything we can to keep Nevada open for business to encourage and foster an environment that allows entrepreneurs to thrive and small businesses to grow and add profitable outcomes to workers.

I have always felt strongly that a safe and healthy environment for our children and our community starts with law enforcement. In recent years, there’s been a lack of effort to provide the police department with the training and resources to help them achieve their job in a safe and just way. This makes it tougher to tackle the increase of drug problems in our state, and we must address it. Additionally, there has been a push to reduce sentences for those who commit crimes against Nevadans and a lessening of penalties for drug traffickers. I plan to advocate in the legislature to keep our community safe by providing our law enforcement agencies with the tools they need and for criminals to receive the punishments they deserve.

As a parent, I take an active role in my children’s education and value the opportunity to be involved. I know that parents want to give their children every opportunity to succeed and have a better life than previous generations. My mother was a 20-year educator in the Clark County School District at inner-city schools, which gave me a first-hand look at the decline in the curriculum and resources being provided to our students and teachers.

I witnessed the lack of support from her administrators and the focus on graduation numbers instead of critical thinking and actual knowledge. I know this issue intimately, and that is why we must provide parents with more choices and options for how to best educate their children. The current system is failing everyone, and those who refuse to change it enable this failure and hurt our children and future generations. Our kids deserve to learn in a safe and accommodating environment and to be provided with the best options for them. Our children are the key to the success of our state, and I will do everything I can to give parents the right to choose the best path for their children. To me, that means holding the school district accountable, providing school choice to parents, and ensuring teachers have the support they need and a safe environment to be able to fully focus on providing the best education possible to our children.