2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 9

Four candidates are vying for the Assembly District 9 seat left vacant by Tick Segerblom, who is trying his luck in a run for state Senate.

At least three of the four are making the economy and taxes the focus of their campaigns.

Democrats in the race are Don Watkins and Andrew Martin, a member of the state's Economic Forum, which is made up of five private business leaders from Nevada who project how much tax revenue the Legislature has to spend.

Watkins did not return calls for this story.

Martin, if elected, has three main goals: Reform the state's tax code; establish a government accountability office; and help foster an industry of renewable energy in Nevada.

The accountability office would be modeled after the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an auditing arm of Congress.

"I have an auditor's mentality," he said. "It's ... about making sure we have a system in place to evaluate and understand the performance of the money we are spending."

The current tax code is a "mercantile patchwork of varying minor taxes and fees," Martin said, and he wants to create something more holistic and stable.

The winner of the race will go on to face the winner between Republicans C. Kelly Hurst and Victoria DeLaGuerra Seaman. Both are or have been small- business owners.

Hurst owns a business where he buys homes, refurbishes them and sells them. He said he would like to do away with regulations that makes it burdensome to start a business.

"I want to make sure that we have a free-market economy here in Nevada," he said. "I genuinely believe in the free market and entrepreneurship."

Education also is an important subject for Hurst, a Las Vegas native who attended public schools throughout his childhood. He said instead of increasing funding for schools, he would like to see children and parents have the ability to choose the school of their choice.

"I don't feel like it's a funding issue as much as a choice issue," he said. "I think we need to encourage parents to get more involved with their schooling options."

Seaman, who owned a small business selling bath and body products for more than two decades, also said she would like to see school choice adopted.

"You're not going to attract businesses to come to Nevada when you have some of the worst schools in the nation," she said. "It's time to look at solutions and not throw more money at it."

This is Seaman's first run for public office in Nevada, a move she said was spurred by the economic downturn.

"I saw where the state and the country were going, and I wanted to change that," she said.

She has campaigned for fiscal conservatives and said if elected she would like to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and maintain a small business.

"I think the Legislature does not understand what they're doing to small businesses with the taxing and the regulating," she said. "Government cannot create jobs; small businesses do."

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.