Miller appoints elections official

Secretary of State Ross Miller appointed Scott F. Gilles to serve as Deputy for Elections, replacing Matt Grifin who resigned in December to go into private practice.

Gilles, 34, is an attorney in Reno and senior associate at Fahrendorf, Viloria, Oliphant & Oster since February, 2006.

He was a law clerk for First Judicial District Court Judge Michael Griffin, now retired, and graduated from University of Nevada, Reno and Santa Clara University School of Law.

"It seems there are challenges to state election laws every cycle and Scott will be prepared to handle whatever comes our way, whether a candidate or a citizen challenges a decision I make as Chief Elections Officer, or whether we initiate action in order to maintain and improve accountability and transparency in election law," Miller said in a written statement.

Miller added that Gilles will spend much of his time working with legislators to advocate for election-related bills the Secretary of State hopes pass during the upcoming session.

Gilles' salary, set by the legislature, will be $107,465 if he chooses a benefit package with employee contributions for retirement or $97,033 if he opts for an employer-funded plan. His take-home will be 4.6 percent lower than the set salary due to mandatory furloughs for state employees.