This is one in a series of profiles of legislative newcomers. 

ASSEMBLYMAN HOWARD WATTS

• Freshman Democrat who succeeds Democratic Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, who did not seek re-election in 2018
• Represents District 15, which includes parts of east Las Vegas
• District 15 leans heavily Democratic (50 percent Democratic, 20 percent Republican and 30 percent nonpartisan or other in the 2018 election)
• Watts won in a crowded, five-candidate Democratic primary with 45.7 percent of the vote, or nearly 1,300 votes.
• He then defeated Republican Stan Vaughn in the general election by 33 points, or roughly 4,600 votes.
• He will sit on the Growth and Infrastructure, Judiciary and Natural Resources, Agriculture and Mining committees.

FAMILY AND EDUCATION:

Though his mother is from Chicago and his father from Detroit, Watts was born and raised in East Las Vegas. After graduating from Las Vegas Academy, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Watts’ partner is Leora Olivas, and in his free time he enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking or fishing — particularly in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park.

CAREER:

After high school, Watts began working with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) — first as a volunteer, then eventually as a field director. Since 2014, Watts has been self-employed as a public relations specialist, providing services to small businesses and nonprofits.

ON NEVADA AND THE ISSUES:

What are your top three legislative priorities for the 2019 session?

While I care deeply about expanding economic security, making sure health care is affordable and accessible for all, and investing in a quality education system, my [bill draft requests] are generally focused on areas where my expertise can best help me improve conditions for the residents of District 15.

I’d like to advance our state’s leadership in promoting sustainable and smart water use. As our state’s most important and limited natural resource, I think it’s important that we continually push to do better in managing water. I’m working on a measure to increase water conservation and am excited to see this becoming a top issue for a growing number of members of the Legislature.

I’m also exploring options to improve the election system – especially ways we can leverage technology to make voting more accessible and efficient. Nevada already gets well-deserved high marks for its election system, but we can be number one. In the process, we can make sure more people are able to register and vote without issue.

Finally, I’m working on a bill to improve the process for mobile home owners to sell and transfer ownership of their property. There are many manufactured home communities in the district, so I'm researching homeowners’ concerns and crafting problem-solving legislation.

What programs/parts of the state government could be cut? What programs/areas need more funding in 2019?

I’m hard at work learning about the state’s recent legislative actions, audits, and budgets. While some details are clear, it’s still too early in the year to have a comprehensive picture of what adjustments should be made. That said, I believe the state could save money by ending the death penalty and enacting smart criminal justice reform. I also think continued investments in our education and health-care systems are needed, but again I’m still learning about the details.

What specifically should Nevada do to improve health care this session? How about education?

I’ve followed the discussion about surprise billing and agree wholeheartedly with finding solutions that protect patients. Another, much more complicated issue, is getting enough health-care providers across different specialties to properly serve our state, and I’m optimistic that we can make continued progress in this area by the end of session.

When it comes to education, I think we must embark on the difficult but necessary process of changing the funding formula so that it provides a quality education for every student in Nevada. We need to get every community the resources they need so every student can succeed.

Should Nevada raise its Renewable Portfolio Standard to 100 percent by 2050? If not, what should the state's RPS compliance standard be?

I believe Nevada can be 100 percent powered by clean energy in 2050. That’s 31 years from now — look how much the energy sector has evolved over the last 30 years. It’s clear that we can achieve this goal. A great first step would be to enact legislation to get us to 50 percent RPS by 2030 during this session — in line with the will of the voters on Question 6.

Do you support modifying or eliminating current property tax caps in state law?

I’m open to tweaking the property tax structure and look forward to learning more and discussing this issue during the session.

Are there any particular issues on which you see yourself working across party lines? If so, which ones? If not, why not?

While some of the bigger issues can be contentious and create stronger partisan divides, a majority of the bills passed by the Legislature in recent sessions had bipartisan  – and often unanimous – support. The strength of our democracy is in bringing different perspectives and backgrounds to the table so that we can address the issues at hand. During freshman orientation, I had the opportunity to get to know some of my Republican colleagues. As we move forward, I will listen to their concerns and seek their support on every issue I’m working on, but I'm also prepared to respectfully disagree from time to time.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.