Las Vegas man to run against Nevada Assemblyman Hambrick

Five-term Republican Assemblyman John Hambrick will have a primary challenger next June.

Summerlin resident Jim Small said he will be the “conservative alternative” to Nevada Assembly District 2 incumbent Hambrick. Small said he has signed the “No Tax Pledge,” a promise to not raise taxes if elected.

In the press release announcing his candidacy, Small said he is joining the race because Hambrick voted for the Commerce Tax during the 2015 Legislative session. The tax applies to businesses with gross revenues that exceed $4 million annually.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval championed that tax as part of a push to better fund and reform public education in Nevada, but the tax drew the ire of many Republicans with firm stances against tax increases.

“I believe that Republican values were not reflected by the incumbents’ actions in the last two legislative sessions,” Small said in the release.

Hambrick did not respond to requests for comment.

Hambrick was first elected in 2008 to Assembly District 2, which represents the far west side of the Las Vegas Valley, including much of Summerlin.

While serving as Speaker of the Assembly in 2015, Hambrick faced a recall attempt after he removed then-Assemblywoman Michelle Fiore (now a Las Vegas City Councilwoman) from her leadership position on the Assembly’s Taxation Committee, citing tax liens levied against her and other issues with the IRS.

That effort only gathered 270 signatures, well short o the 4,100 needed to force a recall election.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.