New lawmaker stresses roots for beliefs
Editor’s note: With more new legislators than ever before, Nevada will have some of its freshest political faces coping with the state’s greatest problems. In an occasional series, the Las Vegas Review-Journal introduces the newly elected lawmakers who are about to take office in Carson City.
Cresent Hardy may be new to the state Legislature, but he’s no greenhorn.
Hardy, newly elected to represent Assembly District 20 in Clark County, traces his family history in America all the way back to the 1600s when one Thomas Hardy arrived near what is now Essex, Mass.
His Western roots began with his Mormon ancestors’ migration to Utah in the 1850s.
And Hardy says his grandfather was the first baby born in what is now Mesquite, the rural Nevada town in the Virgin Valley where he was born, raised and now lives.
Hardy, 53, says his interest in genealogy helps him keep in mind the principles he wants to emphasize in his first legislative session.
"It means we respect what people have done for us and helps us not repeat the same mistakes," Hardy said. "It becomes more personal."
Hardy wasn’t always so attentive to his family and faith.
Although he has deep roots in the Mormon church, Hardy didn’t go on a mission or attend weekly services when he was a young adult. Instead, he worked construction jobs in Las Vegas and made his own way in the world.
"I was kind of a wild child; I liked to drink and carouse a little bit," he said.
After marriage and children, Hardy said he had a private, personal epiphany that prompted him to become more active with the church and more in touch with the Mormon faith.
He went on to parlay his construction background into a job managing public works for the city of Mesquite and, currently, a partnership in a building site development company, Legacy Construction Development. He’s a partner in an aggregate business.
He served on water and hospital district boards in the Virgin Valley and two terms on the city council in Mesquite.
The recession has taken a major toll on Hardy’s business. He says the site development business went from a peak of about $45 million annually in gross receipts to less than $10 million. It shrank from as many as 150 employees to fewer than 25, he said.
"If we care about this state, then we have to do something different than what we are doing," he said.
Hardy thinks the best way for Nevada to recover from the recession is for people to help their families, friends and neighbors and for state government to remain small. He says government assistance should be limited to helping extremely vulnerable people such as the disabled, senior citizens and children from low-income families.
"My roots go back to taking care of your family, your own, your neighbors," he said. "I think we give up a lot of freedom when we start building a government to take care of everything for us."
Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.
Cresent HardyAge: 53
Party: Republican
Office: Assemblyman
District: Clark, No. 20, Mesquite/Boulder City/Las Vegas
Constituent contact: cresenthardy@gmail.com, 378-8310
Occupation: Partner in Legacy Construction Development
Education: Virgin Valley High School, class of 1975
Family: Married to wife, Peri Hardy, four adult children, ages 27, 25, 22 and 19
Notable: Hardy is first District 20 representative from Mesquite since 1969. Seat previously held by Joe Hardy of Boulder City. Cresent and former state Sen. Warren Hardy are related through their great, great, great grandfather. Cresent and Joe Hardy have yet to identify a common ancestor.
Quotable: "My parents … always told us children you are not entitled to complain unless we are willing to do something about it. I like to complain a little bit, so here I am."
