Three will defend regents seats in November

Three incumbents on the higher education system's Board of Regents cleared their primary hurdles Tuesday night.

A fourth incumbent, Regent Ray Rawson, appointed to the board in 2009, also will advance but was in a tight race with challenger Mark Doubrava, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

The top two vote-getters in each of the nonpartisan races will face each other again in the November general election.

With 100 percent of the vote counted in District 7, Doubrava, a Las Vegas ophthalmologist, had a slight lead with 32.2 percent compared to 32 percent for Rawson, a dentist and former state senator. Doubrava did not return a call Tuesday. Rawson predicted the race would "stay above board" as the two go head to head.

Rawson also believes his support will broaden as voters become more educated about the issues.

In the other Board of Regent races, James Dean Leavitt, who was recently re-elected as board chairman, took 66 percent of the vote in the District 13 race, with 100 percent of votes counted . He will face Joe Pitts, who received 25 percent of the vote.

In District 3, with all votes tallied, incumbent Kevin Page, a financial manager, took 46 percent of the vote, leading Ken Lange, who had 32 percent and Shana Tello, who had 22 percent. Lange is a former executive director of the Nevada Education Association, the state teachers' union. He will face Page in November.

In District 12, with 100 percent of votes tallied, incumbent Andrea Anderson got 45 percent while Mark Newburn followed with 33 percent. Anderson, a retired administrator of the College of Southern Nevada, and Newburn, the owner of a software company, will face off again in November.

The 13-member Board of Regents sets policy, approves a two-year budget and hires the chancellor for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Regents serve six-year terms.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@reviewjournal.com or 702-374-7917.