What voters want: Answers on water, education, economy
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has been asking you what you want those running for office in Nevada to be talking about as we head into the November general elections.
Hundreds of you responded with a broad range of issues affecting Southern Nevada and the state as a whole, but there were certain topics that clearly stood out, notably people wanting to hear “some concrete solutions” rather than “political BS and rhetoric about the opponent.”
Here is a look at our agenda that will be the focus of our election coverage going into the final weeks of the election, as determined by what you told us you want to hear:
Water and drought
More than any other topic, you wanted to know how officials will deal with the drought along the Colorado River, which provides 90 percent of the region’s water.
Some want to know about what politicians will do to expand the water supply for Las Vegas heading into the future where the Colorado River, and in turn Lake Mead, are expected to continue shrinking.
Others want to know what officials will do to balance drought response with economic growth.
“How does Nevada work with Feds, neighboring states, and the agriculture sector to solve the water shortage without damaging economic growth?” one respondent asked.
Elections
The scars of the 2020 election remain as we prepare to vote in 2022. About two-thirds of the responses we received that mentioned elections raised concerns with the continued focus by Republican candidates on unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election.
“For every Republican candidate: Why do you continue to perpetuate the Big Lie in spite of the fact there is no evidence of voter fraud?” asked Stephanie Selesnick.
Education
Given Nevada’s perpetually low ratings for school success, education is a top election topic seemingly every cycle —and this election year is no different.
“A community is only as strong as our future potential, which is our youth. How’re you going to make our public schools better?” wrote one respondent.
In particular, people wanted to hear what candidates will do to address the teacher shortage and wages for teachers.
Economy
The economy remains a key concern for Nevadans as inflation continues to drive the price of goods up and pinch people’s wallets. And respondents told us they want to know what elected officials will do to stem that tide of rising costs.
How to bring down inflation and attract more diverse businesses into the the Las Vegas Valley to make it more resilient to economic downturns are two areas you wanted to know about specifically.
“The middle class is suffering What have you done or what would you do to stop the worst inflation rate we’ve experienced in nearly 50 years,” asked Tony Ford.
Abortions
The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer quickly made abortion rights one of the top issues in the 2022 elections.
“Who is protecting woman’s reproductive rights? I want to know right up front how they are going to vote on the subject,” one responder wrote.
Some of this has been touched on in recent Review-Journal stories that explored candidates’ stances on abortion and what those stances could mean for Nevada going forward, including Republicans’ responses to a possible federal ban on abortions.
If you want to join the conversation, you can tell us what you want politicians to talk about on our website.
Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.