2012 Voter Guide: Searchlight Justice of the Peace

Every vote could make a difference in the race for Searchlight justice of the peace, where 26 votes separated the same two candidates in 2010.

Richard Hill won the general election that year with 224 votes, while opponent David Thompson had 198 votes.

This year, the two men edged out a third candidate in the primary for the chance to face off again in the general election. As in the 2010 primary, Thompson was the top vote-getter.

Justices of the peace in rural areas need not have law degrees, and neither candidate has one.

"My commitment to the job is real," Hill said. "I've completed the required courses at the National Judicial College, as well as meeting the continuing education standards set by the Nevada Supreme Court."

Hill was employed by Southern California Edison for 23 years before he retired in 2006. The former shift supervisor had worked at the Mohave power-generating plant.

After his retirement, Hill began working as a substitute for Justice of the Peace Wendell Turner. After Turner's death in 2009, Hill filled the position for five months before the Clark County Commission appointed Stanton Colton. Colton lost in the 2010 primary.

The Nov. 6 election will determine who gets the seat for a full six-year term.

"I have a very personal commitment to Searchlight, being my home for 32 years," Hill said.

He said his commitment extends to the other communities served by the court: Cal-Nev-Ari, Palm Gardens and Cottonwood Cove.

Hill said he wants people to know that if they appear in his court, "I can assure them that they are treated with courtesy, and with dignity, and that they're heard, and that they're treated respectfully and fairly."

Thompson, a member of the Las Vegas police department for 25 years, has been serving Searchlight as a resident officer for more than two decades.

"I have that personal experience of how to apply the law and how to make things better for people," he said.

Thompson said he is the only candidate in the race who "has the experience and has the proven record of treating people fairly and protecting their rights under the law."

If elected justice of the peace, Thompson said, his goal would be "to stop allowing the big city district attorney's office to handle everything the way they would in Las Vegas."

In big cities, he explained, prosecutors try to expedite cases by resolving them with plea bargains.

"That doesn't always solve the problem," he said.

Thompson also wants to bring a drug court to Searchlight.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.