Think tank executive Victor Joecks joins RJ as columnist

A local think tank executive and National Guardsman is joining the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a staff columnist.

Victor Joecks has written more than 1,000 commentaries, analyses and blog posts over the past eight years for the nonpartisan, free-market Nevada Policy Research Institute, with some of those commentaries appearing in the op-ed pages of the Review-Journal.

Now Joecks’ writing will appear on page 1B of the Review-Journal three times a week. He’ll explain local, state and federal policy issues to readers with data- and records-based reporting. His column will debut the first week of January.

A longtime advocate of government transparency, Joecks will give special focus to the Nevada Legislature when it’s in session next year. As NPRI’s executive vice president, Joecks worked as the group’s lead lobbyist during the 2015 Legislature and was instrumental in helping lawmakers pass the country’s first universal school choice program. Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts have since been overturned by the state Supreme Court.

“It’s a privilege to be joining the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the largest news organization in Nevada,” Joecks said Friday. “I’m especially excited to be coming aboard right before the upcoming legislative session, when lawmakers will be deciding the future of Education Savings Accounts and debating numerous tax and spending issues. The Review-Journal has a tremendous news team, and I look forward to providing analysis and commentary to readers.”

Joecks is currently a staff sergeant in the Nevada National Guard. He recently returned to Nevada after a nearly yearlong deployment to Kuwait with the 17th Sustainment Brigade, where he served as the brigade public affairs operations noncommissioned officer. While deployed, he covered soldiers throughout the Middle East, including in Iraq, and received a Meritorious Service Medal for his work.

“Victor’s perspective will be a great addition to the pages of the Review-Journal,” said Managing Editor Glenn Cook. “We’re glad to have him on our team.”

Joecks is a graduate of Hillsdale College. He, his wife and their two children live in Henderson.