To me, being a conservative Republican means you value pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, lower taxes, and limited government. These are beliefs that I’ve held my whole life, and my vote has reflected that in every election. It is because of those values that I voted for Donald Trump both times. In fact, in at least the last 25 years, I’ve never voted for a single Democrat in a partisan race.
Until this one.
I did not vote for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in 2016. I did support Adam Laxalt in his bids for attorney general and governor respectively. However, in this election, I will vote to re-elect Cortez Masto.
Now, I’m not switching my party affiliation, and I continue to be a proud conservative. And though Catherine and I may disagree on a number of issues, I know one thing for sure: Catherine is a proud Nevadan, and cares about the success of our state. Catherine always has Nevadans’ best interests top of mind. In my experience, Catherine has a strong desire to support rural counties in Nevada. She listens to leadership and constituents alike to find solutions. That’s not something I can say about the other candidate in this race.
I served on the Lyon County Commission for eight years and spent three years as its chairman. During that time, I worked closely with Catherine, and was very impressed with the care she puts into her work, especially when it comes to rural Nevada.
Some politicians I worked with were more interested in talking about themselves than hearing about what we need in the rural communities. Catherine is the exact opposite. She sits down with us individually, whether we voted for her or not, takes time to listen to our unique challenges, and then she puts in the work to address them.
With the Navy looking to expand Naval Air Station Fallon, Catherine comes into the community and listens to everyone’s perspective so she can prioritize the needs of the people out here. She blocked the initial proposal for the expansion because it didn’t represent all local stakeholders fairly, and she has made sure to push the Navy to get everyone to collaborate on a new proposal, including the Tribes, ranchers, sportsmen and officials in the surrounding counties. She’s always going to look for the best outcome for Nevada and our national security.
Catherine doesn’t just make herself available to us when we have specific projects she is focused on. In my experience, when I would reach out to Catherine or her team for assistance or support, my calls were answered, and the needs of Lyon County were given attention. In addition, she would provide whatever resources we needed to deliver for our community.
I spent the last 15 years focused on serving Lyon County and the best interests of rural communities in Nevada. I have done so while being guided by my conservative principles. Ultimately my vote is given to whom I think will do their best to serve my community and my state – party affiliation aside. I know that we can count on Cortez Masto to deliver for us in Lyon County as well as in Nevada. I know this because I have witnessed her diligent work for those regardless of party affiliation. For that reason, Catherine will receive my vote this November.
Bob Hastings was a Lyon County commissioner from 2013 to 2021.
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