2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 42

It briefly appeared that District 42 Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams would go unchallenged in her run for re-election. Then the mid-April filing deadline arrived and within two days she found herself in the company of three opponents.

Bustamante Adams, a Democrat, will face Kevin L. Child in the primary election. Robert McEntee and Stephen H. Silberkraus will go head to head in the Republican primary.

Bustamante Adams decided to run for another two-year term because her first term was spent largely on becoming acquainted with the Legislature, tax structures and other procedures.

"I realized that in this arena you have to take small steps in order to achieve your goal," she said. "You probably have to run several times to achieve your goal and leave behind your legacy."

Bustamante Adams said she has picked the brains of her constituents and learned that their greatest concerns are the education system, health care and helping small businesses in her district thrive. A top priority for her is trying to generate more revenue to turn the economy around.

The existing tax structure was formulated in the mid-1950s, she said, and caters to manufacturing-type states. It doesn't match with the state's service-oriented industries.

"It doesn't meet the needs of where we are as a state," she said. "What I saw was large corporations, small businesses and the Chamber of Commerce come to the table all saying they would be willing to broaden the tax base," she said. "Fair share would result in better infrastructure in our state."

In her first stint as an assemblywoman, she learned who to go to for information about specific topics. This term, should she be re-elected, she would be able to focus more on solutions to the state's problems.

Child unsuccessfully challenged Barbara Buckley four years ago and is giving a run for state office another go. He said he is intimately aware of the issues his district faces because of his involvement in the community.

A real estate agent, Child also sits on the Nevada Gang Task Force.

He is frustrated by the education system, the amount of money the state spends on undocumented residents and tax rates.

Child questioned the Clark County School District's board of trustees and noted that even when the state was financially healthy and schools received plenty of money, the district still ranked low in the nation.

"There is something wrong with the management," he said. "Our trustees have no spine."

Child said he has a problem with the state spending more than $1 billion on people who live in the country illegally, but he emphasized that he is not racist. He said he is bothered that money dumped into incarceration and deportation comes from taxpayers' pockets.

"That's not racism; we can get people here legally" he said.

Child also is familiar with the foreclosures and believes the state's priority should be to keep residents in their homes by refinancing their property. He hopes to diversify the economy by offering incentives to lure businesses from California.

And he has a big problem with the manner in which the state spends tax revenue.

"Every day they want to come after this tax or that tax," Child said. "Let's first see the problem and fix it instead of throwing money at it. Most legislators have never had their own business, never signed payroll checks. It's easy to spend someone else's money."

Bigger, corporate casinos should pay higher taxes than family-owned casinos, he said, adding that the mining industry should pay greater taxes.

Child questions Gov. Brian Sandoval's plan to keep the $620 million temporary tax increase another two years.

"I have a hard time with that. He promised to sunset that," Child said. "He doesn't have the principles I thought he did. Sometimes you have to stand your ground as a leader and people are going to take shots. I'm waiting for people to take shots at me and I don't care. I care about the men and women of Nevada."

Neither Republican candidate returned phone messages.

Silberkraus wrote on his campaign website that the state should focus on lifting burdensome regulations on smaller businesses to help them grow and put more Nevadans to work. He also believes Nevada should aim to attract more diverse industries by offering incentives.

To improve the educational system, he suggests the community become more involved and more money should be invested in the classroom.

"I will seek to reform our state government by ending the vicious boom and bust cycles we have come to expect in the budget and bring financial stability to Carson City," Silberkraus wrote on his campaign website.

McEntee wrote on his Facebook page that he wants to help veterans and noted that he is involved with Veterans in Politics and stands behind the organization's stance that the police officers who shot veteran Stanley Gibson in December should be prosecuted.

He said small-business owners should have the right to run their businesses, not the government. He is opposed to gun laws, which he said disarm citizens and benefits criminals.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.