RENO –– Republican candidates and public officials gathered at the Washoe County Republican Convention at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino Saturday to discuss their platforms for the election to take place this November.

“There are a lot of new candidates this year,” said Nevada Federation of Republican Women member Jenna Bingham. “People are often more likely to vote for incumbents just because those are the names they’re familiar with, but we’re hoping that by exposing people to these other candidates, we’ll be able to get more Republican representation.”

Republican candidate for the Washoe County Commission, Bill Anthony, will be running against Davie Eugene Gurney and current commissioner Kitty Jung, both Democrats.

Anthony stressed the importance of getting more republicans elected.

“When I was filing to run, I saw that there are so many other republican patriots running this year, which is great,” Anthony said.

Candidate for Senate District 2, Don Gustavson, also said that he hopes to get more Republicans elected this term.

“We need a change in the Legislature,” Gustavson said. “And we can’t see the major changes we want until we have more Republicans in there.”

Gustavson, who currently represents Assembly District 32, will be running to keep a Republican in the now empty senate seat previously held by Republican Sen. Maurice Washington. Washington has reached the end of his term limits.

The incumbent District Attorney, Republican Dick Gammick, will be running for another term against Republican candidate Ken Stover and Democrat candidate Roger Whomes.

When asked what his campaign will focus on this year, Gammick said, “I let my record speak for itself. In 1995, 42 percent of the people in Truckee Meadows felt safe and in 2007, that figure increased to 72 percent. For me, this isn’t just a job, keeping the people of Washoe County safe is a calling.”

Sparks city councilman Mike Carrigan is also up for re-election this year. Carrigan holds a nonpartisan seat on the council, but is a Republican.

Carrigan explained that those who are trying to figure out who to vote for should look to how the city of Sparks is running now.

“I consider this my kind of job interview, so I tell people if they like what Sparks is like now, then they should vote for me,” Carrigan said. “We (council members) get our running orders from the citizens.”

There are currently seven candidates for the position of District 25 Assembly person, a race with many contenders. Republican Heidi Smith said that what separates her from the mired of other candidates vying for the seat is that, as a mother of six, she’s learned about the workings of the Washoe County education system.

“The problem is that too much money is going to upper management instead of the teachers,” Smith said.

“Today was kind of a candidate meet and greet,” Bingham said. “Sometimes, it seems like there’s a division between the people and the elected officials who represent them, so conventions like these help to bridge that gap.”

The Nevada primary election will take place June 8 and midterm elections will take place Nov. 2.

For more information about the Washoe County Republican party, visit www.washoecountygop.org.