Getting down to business....well, another kind of business

[Tony Shelton]

I apologize for not giving more frequent updates.

We haven't forgotten about our PWI and UAMCC family, just been very busy.

The capitol (Carson City,NV) is about 7-8 hr drive from Vegas. We had to come up here twice and Shelly had to fly up once by herself in Dec/Jan.

Now the tables have turned. Usually it is Shelly sitting in the hotel room while I am on the phone and on the computer.

While she was doing orientation Fayth and I got to spend some time together looking at some museums and historical areas.

It is beautiful up here, but even in early December we could tell it was going to get cooooold!

We did find the street we would like to live on though....

Next: Just got elected, what happens next?

 

[Tony Shelton]

There is some bad news about the quote below.

The freedom Republicans had a lock on leadership.

Then came the money.

Our Governor is a Rhino. He wants to raise taxes. He already had the plan in place before the election when he thought Democrats would still be in charge.

So the Governor and his goons found one weak freedom candidate and got him to flip by paying off all his campaign debt.

That one guy has now flipped the leadership back to the "moderate" republican side.

Michele Fiore was removed as Majority Leader and the head of Taxation.

This is a big deal. The FRESHMAN Assemblyman they put as chair of taxation was given 12k by the Governor and his tax guys. It is unheard of for a brand new Assemblyman to be chair of the Taxation committee.

What many may not know is how much power the chair has.

When a bill makes it to the Legislature this is how it goes.

For example: Shelly makes a BDR (Bill Draft Request), that says "All restrictions on the 2nd amendment are null and void in Nevada".

That BDR goes to the LCB (Legislative Counsel Bureau) and they research the BDR, check the legality of it and make sure the wording is right.

They send that back to Shelly and she goes around with it trying to get other Assemblymen and Senators to co-sponsor it with her to give it more clout.

It becomes a bill and goes to the Judiciary Committee for discussion.

Now, if the Chair of Judiciary is unsympathetic to the bill he can simply never call it up for discussion.

If it is is called up for discussion, even if every other member of the committee votes to present it to the entire Assembly for a vote the chair can simply refuse to sign it and it will sit on his desk and never go anywhere. There are literally hundreds of these sitting on the desks of the former Democrat Chairs.

IF it makes it out of committee, it then goes to the Majority leader and the Speaker of the house. If either of them want to sit on the bill, it will never make it to the house floor for a vote.

IF they do allow it to go up for a vote and the RHINOs have the numbers a bill like this one will simply fail in the Assembly.

If the Assembly passes it, it then goes to the Senate, where the whole process starts over again with them with the leadership holding all the cards.

IF the bill makes it through the Assembly AND the Senate, it then goes to the Governor who can veto it and stop it.

At that point it would go back to the Assembly and the Senate and could only pass with a 2/3 yes vote to override the veto.

All along the way, there has to be edits and revisions and amendments to deal with all the participants who are driven by power and don't want to make any of their donors upset and lose that donor money.

It's hard to make good law in this country.

As you guys heard Shelly was elected to the Nevada State Legislature. We thought it would slow down after the campaign, but it looks like the campaign was a walk in the park.

She found out she won at about 2am. She got her first official email from the state telling her the schedule for the next week at 2:40 am.

The phone started ringing at 6am. She had caucus meetings that day from 10am till 2am. Got to sleep about 3am and the calls started again at 6am

The next day her first meeting was at 9am and continued on till around midnight.

It got a little better later in the week, but not much. She got her first full nights sleep Sunday night.

But what is happening is amazing!

We have not only elected the first fully republican controlled government in Nevada since 1929, but for the first time EVER, the republican side of the Assembly is now fully in control of FREEDOM/CONSTITUTIONALIST Republicans instead of ESTABLISHMENT Republicans.

The greatest takeover in the history of this state came last week when the few FREEDOM Assembly members who were ridiculed and ignored in the past were joined by a slew of newly elected FREEDOM Freshmen that tipped the scales and allowed them to take over the leadership.

That means no more killing of good bills in committee before anyone even has a chance to vote on them. That means we can finally start REDUCING government instead of increasing it!!

This makes the tax loving Liberal pundits crazy.

This guy, Ralston, is having a fit. He is the local liberal pundit. He made fun of all of us at the Bundy Ranch, and now almost every one of the newly elected legislators participated at the Bundy Ranch and gave him their support.

Now we have a chance to do something. Here is the newly elected Nevada State Assembly Republicans. (Shelly is on the left) Hopefully this state will never be the same.

And here is Ralston lamenting the fact that Bundy supporters are elected.

https://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/get-rid-blm

View attachment 28993

 

[Andy C]

Funny...I thought you had to pass a bill to find out what's in it.

 

[Tony Shelton]

Just got elected, what happens next?

After the election there is a short period where donations can be accepted into campaign funds.

No one though Shelly could win so most of her funds during the race came out of our own pocket, neighbors and a few members of PWI and the Nevada firearms forums.

Within a few days after the election the donations started rolling in from lobbyists. Within a week or so she had received almost quadruple what she spent on the entire campaign.

The cutoff date for receiving donations is one month before the session starts and she can't take any more till one month after the session is over.

Why is this time period important?

Well, in Nevada our session only lasts 4 months out of every two years. All the lawmaking has to take place during those four months unless the budget isn't approved and the session goes into overtime, which frequently happens.

Legislators are paid approximately $6k for those four months and are paid nothing for the overtime session.

They are given $10k total for travel and hotels and are expected to make up to 24 flights during the two year session. Her last flight was over $400 and the hotel was nearly $100 per night so if you do the math, you can see that the $10k probably won't make it through the whole two years.

During the four month session she is given $600 per month for housing. At hotel rates of nearly $100 per night the only option is to rent an apartment or condo. The one we rented is $850 per month and is over $1100 per month with all utilities.

Home sweet home for now.

So without donations we would probably have to spend another $5-10k out of our own pocket over the next 2 years minimum just for her to serve.

She is allowed to use the donation money to supplement her costs and to use in future races.

The reason the donations right after the election are so important is because once the session is over the donations dry up. They lobbyists have paid their "fee" to have an audience with the legislators during the session so once the session is over and votes have been cast they don't see any need to donate further. I don't like it but that is how it works.

Shelly was pretty adamant about her stances so most if not all her donations came from lobbyists for business interests she already fights for. I don't think any donations came from sources contrary to her views. She was honest in her interviews before the election so needless to say she didn't get any money from unions or nanny state activists or anyone who wants to raise taxes.

So before the move to the Capitol she had to spend a little more time in Las Vegas. Here she is with the Republican party who never gave her a dime during the campaign. So she owes them nothing.

And another

Here's a fundraiser a former politician and owner of a few casinos put on for Shelly to help pay us back for the money we put into the campaign.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for Charter school openings.

A Cigar and Brandy fundraiser with millionaires. Lol. (It's a Republican thing)

And some meeting she was able to Teleconference from Las Vegas.

Next up, heading up to Carson City.

 

[Tony Shelton]

Funny...I thought you had to pass a bill to find out what's in it.

Only if you are a Democrat.

 

[Tony Shelton]

So we got our house in order, we have Cameron living there, Chris and Jill getting our mail everyday, Chris am Cam running our business for the next few months and we are off to Carson City for the next 5 months to allow Shelly to get ready before session and allow a little time in case the session goes over.

We loaded up her car and one of the pickups and a small trailer with basic household stuff and clothes and hit the road.

For those who don't know where Carson City is or what it looks like all you have to do is watch a few episodes of Bonanza.

Here is a real shot of Carson City taken from the top down of that Ponderosa map with Lake Tahoe in the background.

It would be a great place to be if they didn't have the session in the MIDDLE OF THE WINTER!

At about the halfway point we decided to stay at the "haunted" Mizpah Hotel we had seen on Ghost Adventures.

It was surprisingly nice for an old west hotel.

We didn't tell Fayth till morning, but the room we stayed in was the room where (rumor has it) that a politician in the early 1900's died after a drinking binge right before the election results were in. Presumably they wanted to be able to say he won so they could appoint his successor so they put him on ice in the tub for a day or two and then took him to a Reno hospital and claimed he just died. I didn't see him.. Lol.

Next, getting down to work.

 

[Tony Shelton]

Upon arrival we had to sleep on the floor till we got some furniture.

We rented some, bought some, and eventually it started feeling like home.

We went to a big thing I think the Governor put on to try to soften Legislators up for his tax plan.

The next day I took a tour of his mansion so I could plan future renovations when I move in.

Shelly got to start moving into her office and her new paking spot in the underground bunker parking garage.

Her office is on the top floor and has a nice view of the courtyard. Too bad it is winter.

Next, politics begin.

 

[Tony Shelton]

The next event was the State of the State address by the Governor in the Assembly Chamber

Shelly's chamber seat is right in the middle, front row. Now that might seem like an honored spot, but the fact is, there are three hardcore conservative freedom fighting ladies who don't keep quiet about their stances. The Rino leadership put one on one side corner in the back, the other on the opposite side corner in the back and Shelly in the middle in the front to make it difficult for them to communicate on the floor.

We had to meet Shelly there and she didn't get the opportunity to tell me about how the Gov had blown the conservatives off and not shown up for a briefing meeting prior to the SOTS address. She was furious that he was blindsiding everyone with a plan for a billion dollar plus tax increase. You might be able to see I was not too happy hearing the details for the first time at the address.

That video is here. It was just like the National State of the Union Address with Democrats standing and clapping and Republicans sitting on their hands. And this with a REPUBLICAN Governor!

http://www.c-span.org/video/?323811-1/nevada-governor-brian-sandoval-r-state-state-address

And this is how close we were to the Gov.

I didn't realize till I saw that cspan video that Shelly was so angry about the goings on of that day that she was chewing gum like a cow chewing its cud. She didn't realize it till she saw the video either.

Next: settling in

 

[Tony Shelton]

So the next day Shelly gets a copy of the budget. Look at this monster! And almost every page spends more than most of us make each year.

I forgot about this picture from the news. The media doesn't like Shelly and Michele at all. They sit around and try to snap the most unflattering pictures they can. This one makes them look like they are goofing off during the swearing in of the Governor. All the other pics in the series were serious but the one they took of Shelly and Michele. In reality this was about 30 minutes before anything started.

Meeting with the Bundy Brothers regarding how to deal with "federal" land issues.

Shelly meeting with a lobbyist

Shelly meeting with her Attache (Personal Assistant) Susan who is awesome!!

Finally got her office finished and ready to work

Shelly with her amazing Policy Director lol

Time out for an office selfie.

 

[Tony Shelton]

So the session starts in one week.

I am going to use this time to learn, from an insiders point of view, better how to interact with government officials, the real ones who have the power to make laws and not just regulations. I hope I can use this information in the future to help our industry.

Fayth's homeschooling will consist entirely of Business Administration and State Government. She will learn State Government in chambers, committee and caucus meetings, and by interviewing employees, lobbyists, and politicians.

She will learn Business Administration as she continues Faythworx.

She now has her own debit card. She buys her own materials by herself. (we have to drive her).

Her website is almost done, her local suppliers are all set up, her workspace is very small, but is set up now.

She has the flu today, but this is what she was doing yesterday, buying the buckets and rocks needed for her Gutter Critters.

We are hoping orders can be taken via the website in the next few days. It took us a while to find local suppliers for some of the parts.

Also she is working on something amazing....... A three part system that is already a preferred BMP by many jurisdictions for ground level construction runoff that she will combine with the gutter boom to make the ultimate ground level BMP.

She is working out the details and will have more info if we get a meeting in Reno next week.

On the Legislature side Shelly has a big job ahead of her. We are told the last two months she will be lucky to get 3 hrs sleep at night with sessions sometimes going up to 78 hrs.

I will be there with her all the way.

On her staff she has Susan, who does everything from setting appointments to bringing her lunch, Chris H, who works as her Research Analyst from Las Vegas, Jonathan, a Democrat who was her former opponent who lost in the primary who is acting as her liaison to the Democrats, and I am her policy director.

I read all the bills, conduct meetings with both sides of the issues and together we sit down and decide stances.

I go to meetings she can't make or doesn't prefer to attend as her representative and meet with other legislators along with writing speeches and providing content for press releases that she edits for publication.

I also go around and garner support for her bills and provide testimony in committee in support of her bills.

On top of that the Legislative Counsel Bureau has a great support staff with everything from attorneys to IT guys to help her at every turn.

It is going to be tough but I think some good things are going to happen.

We need all the prayers we can get. This is a historical opportunity since this is the first time the Gov, and both houses of the Legislature have been in Republican control since the 20s.

Pray that we don't blow this opportunity.

 

[Tony Shelton]

Once again Shelly and Tony, congradulations! Hard work pays off!

I wish my good friend Ted was still here for all this.

I spend many hours on the phone talking politics with Ted. He was a very wise man who gave very wise counsel.

 

[Doug Rucker]

Thanks for updating Tony,,,,love reading this stuff....maybe if the tax increase goes through they will upgrade her TV...or is that one all part of the historical look...lol

 

[DunRite]

I wish my good friend Ted was still here for all this.

I spend many hours on the phone talking politics with Ted. He was a very wise man who gave very wise counsel.

I hear ya Tony!

He sure was a wise man

 

[Tony Shelton]

Thanks for updating Tony,,,,love reading this stuff....maybe if the tax increase goes through they will upgrade her TV...or is that one all part of the historical look...lol

Lol, they have a tight budget for people who work. If she didn't work they would give her a 70 inch flat screen.

 

[Craig]

Good stuff, Tony.

 

[Ron Musgraves]

Great stuff


Ron Musgraves
www.uamcc.org
"Sidewalk cleaning"

 

[tomtucson]

I am still mystified about the governor, president, 'white house' or any part of the executive branch submitting 'budgets' or anything whatsoever to the legislature. This is totally unacceptable, unconstitutional, incorrect and infuriating!

 

[AZ PowerWash Pros]

Tony, what you and Shelly have done truly inspires me! Great story. Thanks for keeping us posted.

 

[Tony Shelton]

I hope it is worth it. If nothing else maybe I can use what I learn to help pur industry.

 

[Steven Button]

Great people doing great things!