ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 22

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:28 a.m.

The Assembly District 22 seat left open when Republican incumbent David Brown opted not to run has three challengers looking to fill his shoes.

Republican Scott Sibley, the 30-year-old publisher of a Nevada legal trade publication, has pledged to bring his experience running a business to the Assembly, vowing to bring an end to what he calls "deadlocked, self-serving sessions."

Sibley, who inherited the Nevada Legal News from his uncle after starting as a printer when he was 18 years old, has presented himself as "a fresh face" to government, and said he will work to address issues he believes plague the state's taxation system.

He is a member of the Nevada Development Authority, the Nevada Taxpayers Association, the Nevada Press Association and the National Newspaper Association. Sibley is also a licensed real estate agent and has developed several office and residential projects in Nevada.

Sibley will face Democratic challenger Caren Levensen, a self-described community activist and a longtime member of the Clark County Commissioner's Nuclear Waste Advisory Board.

Levensen has vowed to change "the way Nevada is doing business," saying current solutions fail to address root causes of the problems facing Southern Nevada.

Levensen, 46, has vowed to work with legislators to enact programs to address quality of life issues in the state. She is a member of the Nevada State Democratic Party, the Clark County Central Committee and serves on the Las Vegas chapter of the National Council of Senior Citizens. She is also president of the local Women's Democratic Club and is a founding member of the Clark County School District Citizens Education Advisory Board.

Independent American Party candidate Joshua Hansen, a 24-year-old computer programmer, is running on a platform to streamline local government and says he will work to cut taxes and to provide tax breaks to those who do not have children enrolled in the Clark County School District.

Hansen also advocates changes in road work construction schedules, claiming 24-hour shifts would allow the work to proceed more quickly.

This is Hansen's first campaign for public office. He was an active campaigner for the failed Axe the Tax petition and says he has been active in local and state politics since he was 14 years old. The American Independent Party runs on a platform of strengthening states' rights and against federal interference into state decisions.