INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — With candidate filing for the 2014 election beginning Monday in Nevada, both IVGID trustee incumbents are undecided if they’ll run again.

Incline Village General Improvement District board chair Joe Wolfe and trustee Bruce Simonian, who was chairman in 2013, were elected to their first terms in 2010.

“I’m up in the air,” Wolfe said Friday. “I feel I’ve served my constituents well … but there have been a lot of drawbacks to being a trustee that I didn’t consider prior to running in the election … although working with staff has been a very positive experience.”

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When asked to elaborate on drawbacks, he said there is a “small and specific segment of the population” that can be counterproductive when it comes to overseeing the district.

“I call them CAVE people — citizens against virtually everything.”
Joe Wolfe
IVGID board chair

“I call them CAVE people — citizens against virtually everything … because they’re not understanding, they are ignorant of all the facts, yet they continue to state things that are not true.”

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On Monday, Simonian pointed to two outspoken community members — Aaron Katz and Frank Wright, both former trustee candidates who are frequent critics of district oversight — for part of his hesitance to run again.

“I really want to serve the district moving forward … but Frank Wright and Aaron Katz have been exhausting, “ Simonian said. “I really like what I’ve been doing, and I still have a lot of energy going forward.”

Katz and Wright speak often during public comment at board meetings, questioning district decisions. Both in the past have filed lawsuits against IVGID and numerous open meeting law complaints against the board.

They’ve accused staff or trustees of corruption, and some of their statements have been addressed — at times emotionally — by both Wolfe and Simonian and accused as being non-factual or stretched truths.

“… For me, it’s just getting the proper communication out, for people to understand what all is going on, rather than listening … to rumors in town and things like that,” Simonian said.

INCLINE BAILIFF TO CHALLENGE KUBO FOR CONSTABLE

Incumbent Incline Village Constable Joe Kubo, who was re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010 after assuming the seat in the 2000 election following the death of former Constable A.R. Scot Whittey, will run again, seeking his fourth and final full four-year term.

“I’m comfortable to go for one more term, and then that will do it for me,” Kubo said Monday. “I still enjoy it a lot. It obviously has its ups and downs, but there are more ups than downs, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

While Kubo ran unopposed in 2000, 2002 and 2010, he will have at least one challenger this year — Incline resident Hans Keller, who announced Friday he will file papers.

Keller served as a deputy constable in Incline Village from 1996 through 2011 before becoming chief bailiff at the Incline Village Justice Court, his current position.

In a statement provided to the Bonanza, Keller said “he understands the importance of the judicial and law enforcement processes and where the Incline Village/Crystal Bay office of the constable fits into those processes.”

Keller is also president of the board of directors of the Tahoe DUI Awareness Program, which puts on local Victim Impact Panel discussions for DUI offenders.

TWO FIRE BOARD SEATS UP

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District director Jeff Warner, who took over the vacant seat left last fall by Don Epstein, said Monday he plans to run for a full term this year.

“I believe in the team … there is excellence everywhere I look, and it’s good to be a part of that, and I’d like to keep that going,” Warner said. “… We have really high quality people here.”

The other seat is held by Gene Murrieta, who was reelected in 2006 and 2010.

On Monday, Murrieta said he’s undecided about running this year, although he’s still interested in another four years and may wait to the 2016 election, when three seats are up.

OTHER RACES CONCERNING INCLINE VOTERS

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s seat is among those up for election in 2014, along with those of U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, Washoe County Assessor Josh Wilson, Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick, Washoe County Treasurer Tammi Davis and Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley.

State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer is up for re-election; the Republican represents the 16th district, which includes Incline Village. Republican Randy Kirner’s Assembly District 26 seat, which includes Incline, also is up.

In Washoe County, candidate filing begins Monday, March 3, at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Friday, March 14. Those interested can file out paperwork at the Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office at 1001 E. Ninth St., Building A, in Reno.

Primaries are held for any office that has more than double the number of people applying than the number of positions open.

To learn how to file and for a full list of seats up for election in Washoe County, click here.

Anyone interested in a state office must file with the Secretary of State. To learn more, visit nvsos.gov and click the “Election Center” tab.