The first candidate to announce a run for Carson City mayor in this year's race is a 35-year-old podiatrist who says the city needs a change from "the good old boys."
Sean Lehmann, a private doctor, has set up a campaign Web site and launched a campaign bank account.
The city should be conservative with finances, according to Lehmann, finish the V&T Railway using private funds and have a "zero tolerance" policy for drugs and gangs - working to deport illegal immigrants who are involved.
"Time is of the essence," he said.
The doctor has been in Carson City eight years. He said he started to think about running for mayor in 2005 when the board of supervisors passed the first one-eighth-cent sales tax for the V&T.
Lehmann has not been in public office before, but he said that's an advantage for him and "people who want a change."
"The biggest thing is that I'm not tied to anyone," he said.
Some of the positions he listed on his site, www.seanlehmann.com, include:
- Public safety: "Carson City has become to be known as a sanctuary of sorts to some gang members, many of them illegal immigrants. Effectively combating this problem will involve using federal immigration agents to deport any gang members that are here illegally. This may involve lawmaking at the state and federal level, but it needs to be done."
- Redevelopment: "If the city is going to give significant financial incentives to developers, there needs to be a commitment to finish these projects in a timely manner. The old Wal-Mart and K-Mart buildings are a prime example of where these incentives should be working, but aren't. The Ormsby House is another example of a project that has become an eyesore to the community."
- The freeway: "The citizens of Carson City have been paying a five-cents-per-gallon gas tax for years in order to see this project to completion. I don't think that our financial commitment to this should be open-ended. If (the Nevada Department of Transportation) fails to complete the freeway by 2011, we should seriously reconsider our continued financial support."
Other candidates who said they might run for mayor include school board President Bob Crowell, former Mayor Ray Masayko, Supervisor Robin Williamson, First Christian Church Pastor Ken Haskins and three-term Mayor Marv Teixeira.
Teixeira and Masayko ran in the 2004 election. Four candidates, including Masayko, ran in the 2000 race.
The August primaries narrow the race to two candidates for the November general election unless one candidates takes more than half the vote for an automatic win.
