Fumo taking on Wolfson in Clark County district attorney primary

Former Nevada assemblyman and prominent defense attorney Ozzie Fumo filed for Clark County District Attorney on Friday, preparing to go up against incumbent Steve Wolfson.

Addressing a small crowd of supporters before filing at the Clark County Government Center on Friday afternoon, Fumo repeated previous criticisms of Wolfson’s administration, which he said “treats people as special if they’re wealthy.”

“Everybody is going to be treated the same,” Fumo said about his plans if he is elected. “If you commit a crime, we’re going to come after you with the same vigor whether you’re the richest man in the world or the poorest man in the world, but you’re going to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Wolfson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday.

Fumo said he would not pursue the death penalty if elected, and he would like to focus on alternatives to traditional prison sentences, such as drug court programs.

He also would work to reduce cash bail, and impose non-monetary conditions to assure defendants who are flight risks appear in court.

“When I was up there (in the Legislature) I would say, ‘To the poor, bail means jail, but to the rich, clout means you’re out,’ ” he said.

Wolfson, who has served as district attorney since he was appointed in 2012, filed for re-election Wednesday morning. He emphasized his experience and desire to decrease the backlog of cases that have built up in the court system due to pandemic-related shut downs.

“We’re at a crossroad, do we continue to do the right things to move forward and to tackle this caseload, or do we go in a bad direction?” Wolfson said Wednesday.

Wolfson has taken a significant lead in campaign finances, raising more money in 2021 than any other year he’s been in office, according to campaign finance reports filed in January with the Nevada secretary of state’s office. His donors include major Strip hotels, high-profile attorneys and a company tied to former casino executive Steve Wynn.

Community organizer the Rev. Vance “Stretch” Sanders said Friday that he’s supporting Fumo because he wants a district attorney with “fresh ideas.”

“I think that the underdog sometimes is the best person for the job,” Sanders said.

Fumo ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for Nevada Supreme Court, losing to Justice Doug Herndon.

Other notable filings

Rep. Susie Lee filed on Friday for re-election to her 3rd District seat. She will face a Democratic primary opponent in Randell Hynes. A Republican primary fight is brewing between attorney April Becker, who ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2020, and John Kovacs.

“Serving families, businesses and the community of southern Nevada for the past three years has been the honor of my life,” Lee said in a statement. “I’ve also been humbled by the enormous responsibility I have to fight for southern Nevada in Washington. These past two years have been especially tough for our community as we’ve battled the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, we are on the pathway to a full recovery, thanks to critical relief packages that I am proud to have helped craft and pass. I will continue to fight for Nevada families, businesses and communities, and I will do everything I can to ensure that southern Nevada grows stronger than ever.”

Lee is seeking her third term in the House.

In Northern Nevada, Rep. Mark Amodei, the lone Republican in Nevada’s congressional delegation, has also filed for re-election. Amodei, who won a special election in 2011, will be seeking his sixth full term.

In the race for secretary of state, former television anchor Gerard Ramalho filed for the Republican nomination, while Libertarian Ross Crane filed for the same office. And Mack Miller, a controversial former Assembly candidate who filed a slander lawsuit following a scuffle at a Clark County Commission meeting, filed his candidacy for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal Politics and Government Editor Steve Sebelius contributed to this story.