Election 2014: Nevada State Controller

Tom Jones

Residence: Las Vegas

Occupation: Retired

Age: 74

Party: Independent American

Education: St. Ignatius High School; John Carroll University.

Platform: Most of the 48 employees in the Controller’s office are accountants. The last thing you need is another CPA earning over $100,000 a year. You need a businessman to scrutinize the books to find waste and wrong doing. You need someone to publicize the waste and to suggest ways to correct the problem. You need a businessman with a proven record of finding and correcting wasteful spending. I have 18 years experience in the corporate arena and have started and sold three successful businesses. My last business had expanded into four states within two years before I retired at the age of 57. As your State Controller, I would look for wasteful spending and suggest solutions. You would be able to look online at a monthly summary of the spending in the form of a newsletter and read my comments and suggestions. You would be informed without having to scan through pages and pages of boring figures to stay aware of the expenditures of the state. Press releases would be sent to the media about the waste, interviews radio and TV programs would be scheduled so that the public would know how the state is spending its money.

Contact: www.electtomjones.com, tom@electtomjones.com.

Ron Knecht

Residence: Carson City

Occupation: Economist and financial, policy and technical analyst

Age: 65

Party: Republican

Record of Service: Forty-three years of management and senior professional experience as economist and financial, policy and technical analyst, half in public service (including higher education) and half in entrepreneurial small business. Founder, executive or director (including Chairman, CEO and CFO) of six businesses and six public-interest or charitable groups. Served in elected and appointed office in state and local government after working my way through public university with some scholarship support and paying my own way (while working) through private graduate and law schools.

Nevada Board of Regents: elected 2006; re-elected 2012. Currently member of Audit, Budget & Finance and Cultural Diversity Committees. Served seven years as very active member of Audit (Chair two years) and Budget & Finance (Chair two years and Vice-Chair one year) and Investment and Major Facilities (now overseeing $1-billion in investment funds). Have also served on Research & Economic Development and Health Sciences System Committees, plus various presidential search and performance review committees, chairing two of the latter.

CASA of Carson City: Board member (currently Chair), 2005-14. (Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children) Also, Legislative Co-Chair, 2011. Co-taught two-day seminars for SNL Financial, 2009-13, on utility finance, cost of capital, economic and policy issues for regulators, professionals, managers and securities analysts and others in regulation, utilities and related areas from around the country and Canada. Also taught seminars on valuations and related matters.

Nevada Public Utilities Commission: 2001-12, ending as Senior Economist; testified ~150 times in 25 jurisdictions as expert witness in this and previous employment on wide range of subjects (See list attached at end.) and written extensively on same.

Nevada Assemblyman: District 40 (Carson and Washoe Cities), 2002-04; Commerce and Labor, Government Affairs and Transportation Committees.

Education: University of San Francisco Law School, 1995: Juris Doctor; Stanford University, 1989: M.S., Engineering-Economic Systems (included studies in Public Finance & Taxation Policy and in Public Policy, among other things); University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1971: B.A., Liberal Arts & Sciences (major in Mathematics; minor in Physics and Chemistry); completed additional course work in economics and engineering, plus Civil Engineering masters degree project (American Nuclear Society award winner) in Power Generating Economics, 1977; Economics instructor (Micro- and Macro-Economic Analysis), Western Nevada Community College, Carson City, NV, 2003-06 (with high student ratings); Instructor, Regulatory & Legal Aspects of Telecommunications for graduate students, Golden Gate University, Sacramento, Calif., 1991; Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, State of California, since 1986.

Honors: Most honored to be husband to Kathy; father to Karyn; son to Lela and Wayne; son-in-law to Christena; brother to Kathy, Lisa, Tom and Brent; and related to many others; American Nuclear Society, Urbana-Champaign IL: Outstanding Student Paper in Power Economics, 1977 (Civil Engineering Masters Project); Speaker for institutional investors, public officials and other conferences, 2013-14: “The (Grim) Long-term Outlook for Economic Growth and Investment Returns”; Honored to have won four primaries and three general elections in Nevada, plus appointments to various state and local offices over many years; High school letters (All-County Cross-Country) and college numerals as distance runner.

Platform: I’ll take good care of your tax dollars! With 43 years of management and professional experience as an economist, financial, policy and technical analyst — in public service and private business — plus outstanding educational credentials, I have the best qualifications for Controller. As a Regent, I’ve been very active in key committees: Audit (chairman for two years); Budget and Finance (ditto); and Investment (overseeing $1 billion in funds). I’ve compiled a strong record as a reliable limited-government conservative. Altogether, ideal for Controller. I’ll replace Nevada’s obsolete finance, accounting and information system. I bring valuable experience to this task: As a Regent, I’ve helped oversee implementation of a complex IT system connecting Nevada’s seven public colleges and encompassing numerous finance and other functions. A good new state system for finance, accounting, human resources, IT, procurement and accounts receivable (including better debt collection) will lower high state staffing levels and costs, paying for itself in a few years. I’ll put the state checkbook online so you can see where your tax dollars are going — real accountability! I’ll use actively but prudently the Controller’s auditing powers, and I’ll disseminate the information you need to determine whether your taxes are being spent efficiently and effectively.

Contact: RonKnecht@aol.com; www.RonKnecht.com; Facebook: Ron Knecht for Nevada Controller.

Andrew Martin

Residence: Las Vegas

Occupation: Managing partner, Martin and Associates Ltd., Certified Public Accountants

Age: 50

Party: Democrat

Record of Service: Nevada State Assemblyman 2012-present; Nevada Economic forum 2010-12; Clark County School District Bond Oversight Committee 2009-11.

Education: Master of Science, Accounting State University of New York at Binghamton, 1989; Bachelor of Science, Accounting State University of New York at Binghamton, 1986; Certified Public Accountant (CPA); Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE); Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF); Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA); Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Honors: National Association of Accountants Award of Excellence in Graduate Studies; Recognized by the G.W. Bush administration for his CPA and audit work in the White House Travel Office.

Platform: My extensive professional experience and firsthand knowledge of the State’s finances makes me well qualified to be a financial guardian of Nevada’s tax-dollars. My priorities are to strengthen the state’s fiscal oversight and accountability, which will benefit the economic health of Nevada and improve our outlook for the future. It will be my responsibility as State Controller to not only make sure that debts are collected fairly, but that there is accountability and transparency in the way Nevada spends our money. We deserve to know that our tax dollars are being spent wisely to accomplish tangible results. I will work closely with the other constitutional officers to improve Nevada’s business climate in order to boost our economy, stimulate job creation and make sure the worldwide financial community knows that Nevada is a great place to invest. Fiscal responsibility and accountability isn’t just a campaign slogan, it is what I believe in and what my career has been about. They are the principles by which I will operate the Office of the Controller. My passion for accounting and finance as well as the pursuit of fiscal responsibility and transparency is what makes me Nevada’s best choice for State Controller.

Contact: Assemblyman Andrew Martin, Candidate for Nevada State Controller, 702-724-8349; Andrew@MartinForNevada.com; www.MartinForNevada.com; Facebook: Andrew Martin for State Controller; 7345 S. Durango Dr., Suite B107-319, Las Vegas, NV 89113.