Dallas Augustine files for Assembly seat mother held

The 28-year-old daughter of the late state Controller Kathy Augustine filed Tuesday as a candidate for the Assembly District 12 seat that her mother held when she first entered politics in 1992.

"I never anticipated seeking her old seat, but I think she would be proud of what I am doing," Dallas Augustine said.

She remembers spending hot summer weekends walking with her mother through District 12 to talk with voters.

"I grew up here," added Augustine, who lives in the family home. "I would like to make a change. There is too much graffiti and too many boarded-up shops. You can't stay on the sidelines. I know I can make a difference."

The district runs between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, from 15th Street east to Sunrise Mountain.

A Republican like her mother, Augustine faces a formidable task in trying to win in a district where Democrats have a better than 2-to-1 registration advantage.

Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, is the incumbent and he said he intends to file for re-election.

Ohrenschall replaced his mother, Genie, as the Assembly member for District 12 in 2007.

Genie Ohrenschall had been the representative of the district for 12 years.

"I hope we will discuss the issues and the race won't be based on who has the better-known name," James Ohrenschall said.

Augustine didn't want to have the better-known name. She was thrust into the public limelight when her 50-year-old mother, Kathy, was murdered by emergency room nurse Chaz Higgs, her husband, in July 2006.

Higgs received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, at the conclusion of a two-week murder trial in June 2007. Dallas Augustine attended the trial and tearfully expressed her grief over the loss of her mother during the penalty phase hearing.

She said she is finishing a book about the murder and loss of her mother.

Kathy Augustine served a term in the Assembly, two terms as state senator and then two terms as state controller. She was running for state treasurer at the time of her death.

Dallas Augustine did not know Higgs well and initially did not suspect him of the murder. Her mother had told her he made her happy.

"The past couple years have been extremely difficult," she added. "I had time to process what happened with my mom and to come back to the district and notice things that need help."

"I call this the heart of Las Vegas. I would like to see more families move in, fix up homes and stay and leave property to their children. I don't want to see a mass exodus."

Ohrenschall said crime and graffiti are important issues in the district, but the overriding issues now are the economic slowdown, foreclosure and energy costs.

"The focus has to be on helping people survive," he said.

Augustine, however, said gasoline prices and the economy are more federal issues.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.