Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

On four-day tour of state, Nevada’s AG finds common ground with rural constituents

Attorney General Ford Tours Rural Nevada

Courtesy of Nevada Office of the Attorney General

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford participates in the Nevada Day parade in Carson City on Oct. 30, 2021. Ford was in the capital city as part of a four-day tour of mostly rural areas of the Silver State.

Attorney General Ford Tours Rural Nevada

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and members of his staff are pictured with Humboldt County officials after lunch at the Martin Hotel in Winnemucca. Launch slideshow »

One of the stops on Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s travels through some of the state’s rural communities last week was at the Naval Air Station Fallon for a tour.

Another day he visited the Marigold Mine in Battle Mountain, and he later observed the Elko-based Friends of Service Helping food bank and community service center.

Ford and members of his office embarked on a four-day tour last week to build a rapport with colleagues in the more rural areas of the state and discussed issues important to them, ranging from the lack of housing to the opioid epidemic.

Ford also spent time in Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Elko, Secret Pass Ranch, West Wendover, Ely, Tonopah, Hawthorne, Schurz, Yerington and Virginia City. The tour concluded Saturday in Carson City, where he participated in a Nevada Day parade.

Along the way, Ford learned that there are common issues that not only all rural parts of Nevada share, but also more urban areas like Clark County face, including the lack of housing.

Rural communities are having trouble getting large home builders to come out to their jurisdiction, Ford said, and the towns are not able to build homes at a fast enough rate to meet demand.

While that issue is not necessarily in the purview of the attorney general’s office, Ford said, he will help connect people to resources that can help.

“We found commonality,” Ford said.

Ely Mayor Nathan Robertson said the meeting with Ford and his staff went well, as he showed them around town and local attractions.

“We talked about the opioid litigation going on in the state,” Robertson said. “We discussed rural issues like access to mental health and legal services. I found both the attorney general and his staff to be extremely responsive in addressing our concerns.”

Ford discussed the One Nevada Agreement, which dictates how funds will be allocated among Nevada jurisdictions to address the opioid epidemic, he said. It will help local governments engaged in opioid-related litigation that is seeking to hold various entities and individuals accountable for the opioid epidemic in Nevada, according to the agreement.

Winnemucca Mayor Richard Stone said he and Ford talked about some of the legislation passed during the 2021 legislative session that has created some challenges for law enforcement, not just in rural areas but across the state.

When police arrest people and put them in jail, they get bounced right back out, Stone said.

For instance, the Legislature passed a bill that requires police officers to issue citations instead of arrests for offenses punishable as misdemeanors that are not repeat offenses, violent crimes, DUIs, stalking or violations of protective orders.

“They’re not necessarily being fined a bail that will keep them around so they will be prosecuted for their crimes,” Stone said.

Reece Keener, mayor of Elko and chief of police, echoed similar concerns to Ford about the challenges to rural law enforcement that went into effect Oct. 1.

“There’s been a real handicap to law enforcement because it makes it harder to get someone locked up and keep them locked up,” Keener said. “If they’re free, they’ll continue to commit crimes.”

Keener appreciated the visit from Ford, and he expects Ford to come back again in the spring to take a tour of the youth programs in the area.

The Nevada Youth Training Center, a juvenile detention center that has about 100 children from all over the state, is basically the last stop before prison for youthful offenders, Keener said. He finds Ford’s life story and the journey he took interesting and thought it would be inspiring for the youth at the facility to hear.

Ford came from “humble” beginnings, according to his campaign website (fordfornevada.com), and spent many nights as a child wondering if the gas, electricity and water would turn on the next day. When his parents divorced, he had to look after his siblings while his mom worked nights. His mother insisted that he study hard, and in 1987 signed him up for “Project Upward Bound,” a Saturday school and summer program that helped students who could be the first in their family to graduate from college.

“The jurisdictions are doing their very best to implement laws passed during the legislative session,” Ford said. His office will assist with training and connecting people to resources that can help them.

“It was a good visit,” Stone said. “It was nice to have someone come out and pay attention to the rural counties.”