Commission candidate drops out of race to help Ukrainians

Gardnerville resident Doug Robbins said Thursday that he’s dropping out of the county commissioner race to go to Poland and perhaps volunteer to fight for the Ukrainians.

“I don’t know if they need a 76-year-old former Green Beret, but I am a pilot,” Robbins said.

Robbins said he has a girlfriend who was in Kiev when the war broke out, who just made it to Warsaw with her son and daughter with the clothes on their packs.

“She just survived getting out of Kiev,” he said. “It took them four days. She lost all her money, her auto, her house. She packed up her boy and daughter and drove and walked some 485 miles to get across the border.”

The last fifth of the trip was on foot as they crossed the border into Poland.

Robbins said he expects to be in Warsaw on Wednesday.

Filing for elected office begins on Monday and will last two weeks.

The Clerk-Treasurer’s Office in the historic Douglas County Courthouse will open at 8 a.m. for candidates to start filing.

Lake Tahoe candidates who plan to file at the Stateline Administrative Office will have to make an appointment by visiting https://douglascounty.simplybook.me/v2/#book/location/3/count/1/.

Clerk-Treasurer Amy Burgans, who will be on the ballot for the first time herself, recommended candidates visit https://cltr.douglasnv.us/elections/2022-elections/ which lists the county offices and filing fees. There are also two-dozen town and district boards up for election.

Candidates are required to bring identification, and cash, certified check or cashier’s check for the filing fee. The clerk’s office won’t take personal checks, debit or credit cards for filing under state law.

Burgans said her office plans to upload the names of candidates who have filed to the clerk’s web site each day.

Election filing ends on March 18, setting the stage for the 2022 election.