Candidate taking Lt. Gov. race global
Not satisfied with reaching people in Nevada, candidate Paul Murad of Las Vegas is out to show he can be lieutenant governor to the world.
Murad, 34, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union at age 16 and now owns a real estate brokerage firm, recently led a group that formed what he calls a "Sister City alliance" with the urban technology community Living PlanIT in Paredes, Portugal.
Murad is one of four Democrats vying for the nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki in the general election. The others are Reno city councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza, Sparks aviation software consultant Robert Randazzo and retiree Robert Goodman.
Murad says the Paredes alliance shows he’s already doing something to help the Nevada economy.
"This three-way agreement between Las Vegas, Paredes and Living PlanIT will help diversify our economy and create jobs as well as build international trade and understanding," said a written announcement from Murad, who often highlights his international background in business as a qualification for being lieutenant governor, a job that includes leading being chairman of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.
The only problem is Murad isn’t authorized to form any actual "Sister City" agreements on behalf of Las Vegas.
Jace Radke, spokesman for Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, says the city council holds the authority to form such alliances, not private citizens acting alone.
Radke says Goodman is aware of Murad’s effort and doesn’t have a problem with it, but added Paredes isn’t an official Sister City just because someone says it is.
Living PlanIT CEO Steve Lewis, a former general manager of market development for Microsoft, says the arrangement isn’t meant to be political.
It is a chance for Living PlanIT to research how it could establish some roots in Nevada, he said.
"What we are doing now is just scoping the key areas we could work on, choosing three or four investment opportunities," Lewis said.
In Portugal Living PlanIT is seeking to create a community for high tech research and development people who will create a more economic and environmentally sustainable city.
The idea is to research and create solutions that will make creating and maintaining cities cheaper and less wasteful through the use of advanced software and infrastructure design.
Lewis says construction on the Paredes project will start later this year. In Nevada the plan is to research and identify opportunities for companies to invest in clean energy and other projects.
"We are not relying on public funds," Lewis says of Living PlanIT projects. "I have no interest in politics whatsoever. I’m in this to make money and make a difference. The world tells you that is impossible and that is bullshit."
Read about Living PlanIT here.
Read more about the candidates for lieutenant governor: