Henderson lawyer to seek Assembly post

A family law attorney in Henderson hopes to become the Democratic representative of Assembly District 23.

Allison Herr said Thursday that she plans to run for the seat being vacated by Assemblywoman RoseMary Womack, D-Henderson.

Herr, 44, has lived in Nevada for more than a decade and has had her own practice, based in Henderson, for about five years. She said her focus is on elder law, but she also handles disputes such as divorces and child-custody cases.

Such cases let Herr see people's problems up close, she said. "I deal a lot with people's finances, so I'm dealing every day with the effects of the mortgage problems so many people are having, or people who are up to their neck in credit-card debt and don't know where to turn."

She said she was motivated to run because she saw serving in the Legislature as "a good opportunity to give back," and her priority if elected would be "trying to make sure families have the services they need."

No Republican candidates have announced for the seat.

Womack, retired from the real-estate business, served only one term. She ran for the seat in 2006 when Democratic former Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins didn't seek re-election, but she found the job unappetizing and said shortly after the 2007 session that she didn't plan to run again.

Official filing for legislative candidates begins in May.