Responsible growth, safety and affordability proponent Neal Schwartz has a busy week with a campaign kickoff, a Washoe Dems Hacer Monthly meeting in which he’ll be a speaker, multiple phone calls and lengthy door to door visits as he runs for Nevada State Assembly District 31, trying to defeat Republican assemblywoman Jill Dickman, who first won the seat in 2014, before losing it to Skip Daly for several cycles and regaining it in 2020.
“I was taught something by my grandfather and my father that if you run for office and you become a state legislator or a senator or whatever you have to listen to your constituents,” he told Our Town Reno of having extensive doorstep conversations already from his own base in the Los Altos Parkway and Vista Boulevard area.
“That's who I represent. I represent my constituents. I don't represent a party,” he said.
“One of the complaints I hear a lot is about some of the HOA documents and allowing some of these big institutions to come in and buy a lot of these houses right now and renting them out.”
The retiree held many jobs before recently moving to northern Nevada where he had prior connections, working in space videography, advertising, combating hazardous waste and being in real estate in the Bay Area for several decades.
He was initially thinking of going for Mark Amodei’s U.S. congressional seat before the representative’s surprise retirement but then was convinced to run for our state assembly instead.
His Facebook bio catches attention as a “retired businessman, political outsider, grandfather. Angry with cuts to Medicaid, billionaire giveaways, MAGA secret police. Focused on making life more affordable for workers and families.”
He’s also been in the recent local news cycle with a proposed bill to protect homeowners when developers build on wetlands and environmentally sensitive land. That figures on his campaign website with its own Red Hawk section.
Other priorities are listed as “Making Nevada More Affordable,” “Fully Funding First Responders,” “Fixing Traffic and Improving Mobility,” “Workforce Development and Addressing Provider Shortages,” as well as “Raising Revenue the Smart Way: A Nevada Lottery,” and “Protecting Mail Balloting in the Nevada Constitution.”
“Neal supports bringing a Nevada Lottery, limited to within casinos only, with proceeds dedicated to education and essential public services. This will bring more customers to casinos (instead of California businesses) and increase revenue without raising taxes,” his campaign website indicates concerning the lottery idea. “A lottery would keep money in Nevada instead of flowing to neighboring states, raise revenue without raising taxes on working families, and support schools and critical state priorities.”
“I’m working harder now than when I worked in real estate,” he concluded in our phone call today, feeling energized nonetheless by his campaign. “It’s my way of giving something back to my country and to the state," he said.
“Simply put: I am here to represent all voters of Nevada Assembly District 31, not any special interest group or political parties. I want to hear from you and when elected I am committed to hosting regular town halls to hear what you want from your state government,” he promises on his website. While he doesn’t expect any primary opponents, he is eager to keep meeting new people in his district, listening to their concerns, and finding new ideas to help each and everyone of them ahead of the decisive November runoff.
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