Courage Under Fire Award: Valeria Gurr<\/strong><\/p>\nWhen it comes to school choice, Valeria Gurr is a force of nature.<\/p>\n
She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in public relations with a minor in marketing in Chile before immigrating to the United States.\u00a0 She went on to earn her master\u2019s degree in journalism and media studies at UNLV and is currently working on her PhD in Public Affairs.<\/p>\n
Valeria first got involved in the school choice movement a few years ago after discussing it with a friend and hearing from a number of parents about how low-income families were getting the shaft when it came to education.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a first-generation immigrant, I really thought these things only happened in a third-world country,\u201d she said. \u201cI was shocked to see some of the problems in the schools that I visited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria also came to understand that one size doesn\u2019t fit all when it comes to teaching kids and that our education priority should be on students and not systems.\u00a0 She believes all families deserve school choice \u2013 be it public, private, charter, or homeschooling – regardless of their family\u2019s economic situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, school choice means that students have the opportunity to exit poverty\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m proof of that. And I know many parents are searching for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeria has become one of the most influential Hispanics in all of Nevada and is a Senior Fellow for the American Federation for Children, where she travels all over the country preaching the gospel of school choice.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been featured on CNN, Fox News, the Washington Post, The Hill, the Daily Caller, Townhall.com, the Washington Examiner, and the Washington Times, as well as Univision and Telemundo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t even imagine doing something different because I really love what I do,\u201d Valeria said in an interview. \u201cI have seen the change in so many kids and they have told me their stories. I\u2019ve been there to see how giving them access to a school choice has changed their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a new governor in office, school choice advocates were optimistic that significant reforms would be passed in the 2023 session of the Nevada Legislature.\u00a0 Gov. Joe Lombardo proposed increased funding for the state\u2019s Opportunity Scholarship program while Republican legislators pushed to resurrect Education Savings Accounts.<\/p>\n
Valeria was front and center during legislative hearings and at public events drumming up support.\u00a0 She was criticized, belittled, ridiculed, and attacked by public school apologists determined to protect the existing failed system.<\/p>\n
In the end, the Democrat majority killed every effort to give students and their families greater school choice, including cuts to the Opportunity Scholarship program which mostly benefits low-income, minority children.<\/p>\n
Valeria was frustrated.\u00a0 Disappointed.\u00a0 Angry.\u00a0 But not defeated.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s already out on the campaign trail exposing legislators who stand in the way of school choice while championing champions of educational freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on the right side of history,\u201d she says.\u00a0 \u201cThis should not be a political issue.\u00a0 Democrat and Republican voters support school choice because it\u2019s the right thing to do.\u00a0 I hope lawmakers eventually come to realize that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks in large part to Valeria\u2019s efforts, more and more are coming to that realization every day.\u00a0 It\u2019s no longer a question of *if* greater school choice will become a reality in Nevada; it\u2019s when.<\/p>\n
For her passion, her energy, her resolution in the face of adversity, and her never-say-die commitment to the families and students deserving of freedom of choice in education, Citizen Outreach Foundation is proud to honor Valeria Gurr with this year\u2019s \u201cCourage Under Fire\u201d award.<\/p>\n
Rising Star:\u00a0 Danielle Gallant<\/strong><\/p>\nDanielle Gallant ran for the first time in 2022 for the Nevada State Assembly.\u00a0 I\u2019d only met her once, briefly, at a fundraising event for the Nevada Firearms Coalition.\u00a0 And I endorsed her Republican primary opponent.<\/p>\n
But Danielle won.\u00a0 And since there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in politics, we arranged a getting-to-know-you lunch at the Claim Jumper in Green Valley.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Paul, had been out-of-town and joined us with their two sons.\u00a0 It was there that I learned the two had gotten married at Burning Man – and that was enough for me!<\/p>\n
Danielle is clearly not your typical Republican.<\/p>\n
As a freshman legislator, she was tapped by her colleagues to serve as the Assistant Minority Leader for Southern Nevada\u2026and she never looked back.<\/p>\n
Now, no two people ever agree 100% of the time \u2013 not even Siamese twins.\u00a0 So let\u2019s just say she and I had a couple of \u201cspirited\u201d conversations during the 2023 legislative session – and have had a couple more since.<\/p>\n
But Danielle inherently understands some important things too many other Republicans don\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n
\n- That it\u2019s more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.<\/li>\n
- That you\u2019re not the minority party, but the opposition party.<\/li>\n
- That majorities get to lead, and you get the majority by addition, not subtraction.<\/li>\n
- That to increase your numbers you need to nominate the most conservative candidate who can win.<\/li>\n
- That to be truly effective as a legislator, you have to master the Three P\u2019s: Policy, Politics, and Process.<\/li>\n
- That when blocked by your opponents in Carson City, you have to take your case directly to the voting public.<\/li>\n
- That you have to engage and fight the liberal media, not ignore it – including making effective use of social and other non-traditional media.<\/li>\n
- That if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs \u2013 and few egos, as well.<\/li>\n
- That well-behaved women rarely make history.<\/li>\n
- And that if you want a friend in politics, get a dog.\u00a0 Here are Danielle\u2019s dogs\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![](\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/ace05927626f4709ff67049e0\/images\/ede8d83c-279e-77ff-0068-56a30b0c6c6f.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
But the biggest thing is that if you want to elect more candidates, you can\u2019t just talk about it.\u00a0 You have to get in the game.<\/p>\n
You have to get your hands dirty and slug it out with your opponents, not sit around knitting scarves and sipping tea at high noon.<\/p>\n
As such, Danielle has actively helped recruit solid candidates this election cycle.\u00a0 She\u2019s helped train them.\u00a0 She\u2019s helped them raise money \u2013 and has donated to them herself.\u00a0 She attends their events.\u00a0 She walks door-to-door for them. She helps lift them up when they\u2019re feeling down.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s a fighter, not a spectator.<\/p>\n
If Republicans get out of their super-minority status in the Assembly this year – and are able to protect Gov. Lombardo\u2019s vetoes – Danielle will have been a big part of that success.\u00a0 And she\u2019s going places.<\/p>\n
For that reason, Citizen Outreach Foundation is proud to honor Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant as this year\u2019s \u201cRising Star\u201d award recipient.<\/p>\n
Unsung Hero: Jon Kamerath<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Republican Party (GOP) says it\u2019s for smaller government, lower taxes, and greater individual freedom.\u00a0 The Independent American Party (IAP) says it\u2019s for smaller government, lower taxes, and greater individual freedom.<\/p>\n
The difference, the joke goes, is that the IAP actually means it.<\/p>\n
As such \u2013 and as a conservative first and a Republican a distant second \u2013 I\u2019ve often supported an IAP candidate in the general election over the Republican candidate.\u00a0 That includes the 2014 Nevada State Senate District 8 race.<\/p>\n
In that contest, Republican Patricia Farley was running against Democrat Marilyn Dondero Loop and the IAP\u2019s Jon Kamerath.\u00a0 I endorsed Jon, writing\u2026<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cAs an unapologetic fiscal conservative, I enthusiastically endorse Jon Kamerath in the 2014 Senate District 8 race.\u00a0 Jon has put his commitment to protecting the taxpayers of Nevada in writing by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and is equally committed to limited, constitutional government.\u00a0 I would sleep well at night knowing that Jon was watching out for my rights and my wallet in Carson City.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nJon was a conservative\u2019s conservative who pulled 4 percent of the vote in that election.<\/p>\n
Farley went on to win the race.\u00a0 She then went on to vote for the largest tax hike in Nevada history.\u00a0 She then went on to switch her party registration from Republican to non-partisan and allied herself with the Democrats.<\/p>\n
Farley was a RINO\u2019s RINO (Republican In Name Only).<\/p>\n
Fast-forward to March 2024.\u00a0 Jon filed to run for Congress in Nevada\u2019s Third Congressional District \u2013 a key race that could well decide whether Republicans or Democrats control the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, next year.<\/p>\n
Jon came to understand that his candidacy could well pull enough votes from the GOP candidate in the race to swing the election to the liberal Democrat incumbent and agonized over whether or not to pull out.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t want to let his supporters down.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to let his party down.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to let his family down.\u00a0 And he didn\u2019t want to let true conservatives down.<\/p>\n
But he realized just how big the stakes were \u2013 both for Nevada and our country.\u00a0 So in the end, he put Nevada first.\u00a0 He put America first.<\/p>\n
And he withdrew his candidacy before the deadline, giving the Republican nominee \u2013 whoever it turns out to be and however conservative they\u2019ll turn out to be \u2013 a better chance to defeat the liberal incumbent.<\/p>\n
It was a personally and politically painful decision – one that\u2019s impossible to fully appreciate by anyone who\u2019s never put their name on a ballot and reputation on the line \u2013 which garnered no media attention or public recognition.<\/p>\n
And for that, Citizen Outreach is proud to honor Jon Kamerath with this year\u2019s \u201cUnsung Hero\u201d award.<\/p>\n
Reagan Legacy Award: Sig Rogich<\/strong><\/p>\nIn January of 1995, I was elected Chairman of the Clark County Republican Party. And for those fretting that today\u2019s party is so \u201cdivided,\u201d let me assure you that only the names have changed.\u00a0 It was just as bad, if not worse, back then.<\/p>\n
Which is why, to this day, I maintain that the best kind of party chairman to be is an EX-party chairman.<\/p>\n
Anyway, the GOP\u2019s annual Lincoln Day Dinner had already been planned in advance for the following month.\u00a0 All I had to do was MC the event \u2013 which was a good thing because, truthfully, I really had no idea who was who or what I was doing.\u00a0 My election was more by accident than design.<\/p>\n
I was as green to party politics as they come.\u00a0 I got elected in a three-way race because half the Central Committee hated one of the candidates and the other half hated the other one.\u00a0 I was too new to be so hated at the time.\u00a0 That would come later. <\/p>\n
The scheduled keynote speaker for the dinner was Sig Rogich.\u00a0 I\u2019d heard his name but had never met him or spoken to him.\u00a0 The only thing I knew was that he was a former ambassador somewhere and had worked on Ronald Reagan\u2019s presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
So my embarrassingly short introduction as MC amounted to: \u201cLadies and gentlemen, a man who needs no introduction, please welcome Sig Rogich!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ugh.<\/p>\n
But that began a decades-long relationship \u2013 sometimes stormy, usually not.\u00a0 Despite being a wet-behind-the-ears \u201cloose cannon,\u201d Sig always took my calls and generously gave me his time and advice \u2013 which I foolishly too often chose not to take.<\/p>\n
Funny story: Back in 1997, Sig was hired to do \u201ccrisis management\u201d for heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson after his infamous ear-biting fight with Evander Holyfield.<\/p>\n
I was working as a consultant for the Nevada GOP at the time and wrote a fundraising letter for the party referencing the incident in the headline.\u00a0 I was told that didn\u2019t exactly go over too well with Sig, but he never held a grudge.<\/p>\n
In many ways, Sig was my political mentor in politics even though I unfortunately never got to actually work for him.\u00a0 If I had, I probably wouldn\u2019t have banged my head on the ceiling and tripped over my own feet as often as I did.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s see if I can do a better introduction than I did in \u201995\u2026<\/p>\n
Sig Rogich was born in Iceland on May 17, 1944 \u2013 which means he\u2019ll be celebrating his 80th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday in just a couple weeks.\u00a0 So an early\u00a0Happy Birthday<\/span>, Sig!<\/p>\nHis family moved to Nevada in 1954.\u00a0 He studied journalism at the University of Nevada Reno and founded R&R Advertising in 1973 – which became the largest advertising and marketing firm in Nevada and helped put Vegas on the map as the Entertainment Capital of the World.<\/p>\n
Sig also became a political powerhouse and kingmaker in GOP politics.\u00a0 You could write a book on his success, and somebody should.<\/p>\n
He was a close friend and adviser to former Nevada U.S. Sen. Paul Laxalt and a media consultant for former Nevada governors Mike O\u2019Callahan, Kenny Guinn and Jim Gibbons.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also been an adviser and consultant \u2013 paid and unpaid – to countless numbers of Republican candidates, up-and-down the ballot, all across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1984,\u201d then-Las Vegas Sun reporter Patrick Coolican wrote in 2006, \u201cRogich directed what was known as the Tuesday Team, Reagan’s 1984 dream team of advertising pros, which included legends Hal Riney and Phil Dusenberry. It was one of the best campaigns ever run, and Reagan won in a landslide.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll remember that campaign as the \u201cMorning in America\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n
And it was Sig who persuaded singer Lee Greenwood to donate his \u201cGod Bless the USA\u201d song to Reagan\u2019s campaign for the princely sum of\u2026$1. There\u2019s a funny story, and a bit of controversy, about that, too.\u00a0 But you\u2019ll have to ask Sig about it.<\/p>\n
Also on the Tuesday Team was media consultant Roger Ailes, who went on to create FOX News.\u00a0 Sig and Roger developed a strong and long-term relationship that stretched into former George H.W. Bush\u2019s presidential campaign in 1988, which included the infamous \u201cWillie Horton\u201d ad.<\/p>\n
Bush won and went on to appoint Sig as Ambassador to his homeland of Iceland.<\/p>\n
I could go on and on but need to wrap this up.<\/p>\n
Suffice it to say it\u2019s been an honor and privilege to know Sig and work with him on some projects \u2013 including Citizen Outreach\u2019s effort to establish \u201cMount Reagan\u201d at the peak of Frenchman Mountain outside of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Sig was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the project and instrumental in getting the Nevada Board of Geographic Names to approve the designation.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Democrat Rep. Dina \u201cI\u2019m Not Happy\u201d Titus \u2013 a woman weaned on a pickle \u2013 introduced a bill to block the honor from being made official.<\/p>\n
All of which is to say Citizen Outreach is proud to honor Sig Rogich with this year\u2019s \u201cReagan Legacy Award.\u201d\u00a0 And I hope this write-up helps make up for the embarrassing introduction I gave him in 1995!<\/p>\n
Congratulations<\/span>\u00a0and a big THANK YOU to all our award recipients.<\/p>\nAnd for those attending who have asked, the attire is business casual.\u00a0 See ya Wednesday!<\/p>\n
CORRECTION<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the last Muth\u2019s Truths, I mistakenly wrote that potty-mouth GOP candidate Josh Stacy was running in Senate District 18.\u00a0 He\u2019s actually running in Senate District 6 against Battle Born Republican Women President Jill Douglass.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s still a childish, Hamas-supporting jerk though. I got that part right.<\/p>\n
FAMOUS LAST WORDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cThere\u2019s a time and a place for everything. How many more baseball games do I have with my son? Those things are so much more important to me than having my face on the cover of TV Guide. \u2026 (Instead of talk show appearances), I\u2019d rather spend that three hours to take my daughter to lunch or play golf with a friend.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Late comedian Danny Gans, quoted in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4\/26\/24<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nMr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.\u00a0 You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.\u00a0 His views are his own.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Citizen Outreach\u2019s annual fun-filled, action-packed, star-studded\u00a0conservative awards dinner\u00a0will be held next Wednesday at the Italian American Club in Las Vegas.\u00a0 It sold out weeks ago. And without further ado, here\u2019s who we\u2019ll be honoring\u2026 Californian of the Year: Julie Pazina We\u2019ve added a new award (of sorts) to this year\u2019s list of honorees: \u201cCalifornian of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[748],"tags":[3466],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47277"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47280,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47277\/revisions\/47280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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