Freshman Gorelow defending AD-35 seat

Freshman Democratic Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow is facing political newcomer Republican Jay Calhoun in the 35th District, which covers Southern Highlands and southwest Las Vegas.

Gorelow said she wants to the work she’s done since winning her seat in 2018 and hopes her track record speaks for itself. She’s lived in Nevada for more than 20 years, and works for the nonprofit Foundation for Positively Kids.

That organization focuses on providing children with health care, especially those with special health care needs. Not surprisingly, health care and children are two of Gorelow’s campaign focal points.

“Obviously we want our economy back up and running strong, but there’s health care issues that we need to be concerned about as well,” Gorelow said. “We want to make sure our people are safe and not getting sick. When people get sick, whether it’s from COVID, flu or anything else and not being able to pay for it, but also being able to have a doctor or a health care provider available to see them.

“We also have a lot of families with children in the school system, so getting them to school in a safe environment is also very important.”

Although Gorelow has experience, Calhoun, who moved to the district five years ago from California, says his experience serving in the U.S. Army will help him edge the incumbent.

Calhoun began working as a pastor upon his arrival in Las Vegas and has since been a football coach at both Desert Oasis High School and Rancho High School and has also helped valley youth learn IT skills, including coding.

“I want to see a diverse opportunity for the youth who are coming out of high school,” Calhoun said. “I saw there were a lot of kids, with a lot of potential, but there weren’t a lot of opportunities, especially those who didn’t go to a university straight from high school. I want them to be able to have more opportunities and more doors for the youth, who are the leaders of tomorrow.”

Calhoun does a lot of community service, assisting the homeless and veterans populations and would target those areas heavily if elected.

“There’s a lot of things that veterans need… just having more opportunities from health care, down to business opportunities for veteran business owners,” Calhoun said. “Also mental health awareness. Mental health is real, so just being able to bring more opportunities for veterans, that’s one thing that’s near and dear to my heart.”

Gorlow sees the recent growth of the district has presented some challenges that she’d like to address with another term.

“With education especially our schools are overpopulated and we continue to work to make sure we have enough schools to make sure they’re not over crowded,” Gorelow said. “We’re going to be opening up a middle school next year and we still need a high school. Those are some of the challenges we’re facing and will continue to face as this district continues to grow. Affordable housing will also be an issue.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.