ERICH OBERMAYR

NAME: Erich Obermayr

AGE:   78

PARTY AFFILIATION:   Democrat

DAY JOB:  

Retired

EDUCATION: 

BA, University of Arizona; anthropology and creative writing major.

HOW LONG YOU HAVE LIVED IN NEVADA:  

34 years

WRITE A BRIEF (TWO TO THREE SENTENCES) SUMMARY OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF THIS OFFICE:

I spent my working career in cultural resource management learning to navigate through government regulations, stakeholder and client interests, ethics, and the law. My 78 years have shown me that successful legislation, as with anything else in life, requires understanding complex situations, respecting the ideas and motivations of others, and the ability to recognize when and to what degree compromise is the best course of action.

WHAT IS YOUR TOP PRIORITY IF ELECTED?

My top priority will be to pass legislation enabling nonpartisan voters to participate in our party primaries.

IN JUST A FEW SENTENCES: WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING OUR STATE, AND HOW WOULD YOU FIX IT?

I have spoken to numerous voters in the course of my campaign, and they tell me the biggest problem facing the state is "affordability." Specifically, they either simply can't afford the basics--rent, gas, food, etc.--or they can meet expenses but just barely, and cannot save for the future. I would advocate for more state support for projects which would bring down housing costs by increasing the supply of attainable housing and correcting the current imbalance between supply and demand. I would also require state consumer regulators, such as the Insurance Commission and the NPUC, to prioritize the interests of consumers and protect them against arbitrary cost increases. I would advocate a fairer revenue system which would reduce costs for individuals and small businesses. I would require corporations which come to Nevada to take advantage of our available land and resources, minimal regulations, and willing workforce to make a larger, more realistic contribution toward supporting the public services, from education to good roads, which make their success possible.

CONSUMER PRICES, GAS PRICES, AND HOUSING COSTS ARE HISTORICALLY HIGH, WHILE WAGES HAVE NOT KEPT PACE IN NEVADA. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO HELP NEVADANS WHO ARE STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY?

Much of the affordability crisis is being driven by federal-level decisions and policies but, as I outlined above, there are some actions the Legislature can take to mitigate the worst impacts. The high cost of housing is at the heart of the crisis. It is caused in part by market manipulation but mainly by the mismatch between supply and demand. I would support 1) stopping private equity funds from manipulating supply and shutting ordinary Nevadans out of the housing market, 2) offering increased funding for the Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act projects and other targeted measures to assist builders, homebuyers, and renters, 3) supporting incentives to counties and cities to change planning and zoning that places undue restrictions on developing multi-family housing, and 4) opening federal land, where appropriate, to residential development.

WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF AI, AND THE PROLIFERATION OF DATA CENTERS? WHAT ROLE DO YOU SEE NEVADA TAKING IN EACH?

Data centers are unique in their astonishing appetites for water, electricity, and land, along with their potential environmental damage. But they also offer jobs and significant local and state tax revenue. It is up to local officials—county commissioners, city councils and supervisors—to weigh the costs and benefits and permit, or not, data centers in their communities. This is and should always be a local decision, but because data centers can have a wide-ranging impact on the lives of all Nevadans the state needs to step in and establish baseline regulations and requirements that apply statewide and protect all Nevadans from the most harmful effects of data center construction and operation.

But first, we need to end tax abatements for data centers. Corporations choose Nevada for their data centers for a number of reasons having nothing to do with taxes. Tax abatements for them are a pointless giveaway.

The Legislature must establish statewide baseline requirements and a permitting process to assure these requirements are met. Data center water use must not impact neighboring residential, municipal, or commercial water right holders. Should conflicts arise, data centers must defer to these other users.
Data centers’ appetite for electrical power goes far beyond normal levels of industrial, commercial, or residential consumption. The cost of expanding the electrical grid and other infrastructure to meet this singular demand must be paid by the data centers themselves and not passed on to consumers. Nor should other ratepayers pay any price increases caused by data centers’ distortion of supply and demand in the electricity marketplace. The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) must provide local governments with resources and expertise to assist in the evaluation of data center project applications. This would include a neutral analysis of environmental, social, economic, and other impacts currently not addressed by NDEP and beyond the capabilities of most local governments. ​

The bottom line here is that the burden is on data centers to prove they are not going to take our water, make us pay for their electricity, or ruin our environment. It is the Legislature’s job to hold them to this standard.

IN ONE SENTENCE: WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING VOTERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU?

I have led and eventful life, learned from my mistakes, and I'm still learning; I firmly believe state government has a critically important purpose, and that is to make day to day life for everyday Nevadans easier and better.

YES OR NO: WILL YOU ACCEPT THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION, WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOSE?  

Yes