On the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 4, Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford held a town hall at the Washoe Dems’ headquarters. The room was packed with individuals eager to ask Ford questions about his campaign policies.
He started the event by talking about how rising housing costs, expensive daily essentials and limited access to healthcare are core bipartisan concerns in Nevada.
He then opened the floor to his constituents. Rachel, an individual with autism, shared how the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD) has told her that if she speaks out against the agency, her services will be terminated. She asked Ford if he were elected, would he let them pursue such action? The gubernatorial candidate said he would not and will be supporting Rachel instead.
Lessia Judd, another attendee at the event, brought up her concerns about affording medical care. Ford then talked about his solution to this issue, such as his plans to work with nonprofit organizations to help individuals navigate medical debt and capping prescription drug prices.
Judd said his visit to Reno means a lot to her.
“It means that our voice is being listened to,” Judd said.
Halfway through the event, another attendee mentioned the amount of campaign advertisements from current Governor Joe Lombardo and asked Ford when he will start pushing his word out about his campaign. In response, Ford brought up the need for money when campaigning. He said Lombardo has people who can drop millions of dollars for ads, while Ford’s donors are donating smaller amounts.
When asked about his plan for funding his proposals, Ford said his vision entails bringing in new industries, reducing expenses such as fraud, waste and abuse and going after the uncollected taxes from big corporations.
The development of data centers across the state and Ford’s abatement vote in 2015 were also brought up by a student attendee. His “yes” on SB170 provided for a partial abatement of taxes for new or expanding data centers in Nevada. The attendee asked Ford for his stance now on the topic.
Ford said his vote 11 years ago was for people to get jobs, pay the rent and provide for their families, and that the piece of legislation he helped pass had unintended consequences. He said he has made it clear on his campaign website that if data centers were to operate in Nevada, they need to find an alternative source for water and build out the electric grid to accommodate their electricity needs.
Lastly, Ford took on more questions in regards to free lunches for students and the ghost gun bill. He criticized Lombardo for vetoing such bills, and promised his supporters he will sign them if elected as governor.
