This is an installment in a series of "On the Record" pieces highlighting the policy stances of candidates running for major offices in the 2022 Nevada election. For more information on the policy positions of Matthews’ opponent, Democrat Ellen Spiegel, click here.

First-term Assemblyman Andy Matthews (R-Las Vegas) has centered his campaign for state controller, an accounting-focused position, on cutting government spending and increasing transparency around state budgets.

Earlier this year, Matthews highlighted his goals through a self-deprecating campaign advertisement he filmed at a barbershop, poking fun at his baldness.

“I hate it when people waste money, really hate it,” he said while putting down a can of hairspray. “I’ll comb through every penny because the one thing I know is it’s time for a haircut in Carson City.”

Matthews did not respond to multiple interview requests from The Nevada Independent. 

Previously, Matthews headed the conservative think tank Nevada Policy Research Institute, which has advocated for increased school choice, lower taxes and more transparency around public sector compensation.

In response to a questionnaire from The Record-Courier, a newspaper in Gardnerville, Matthews said his experience at the research institute helped him gain insight into state tax and budget policy and prepare him for the controller position. He touted his role in creating a website that provides the public with information on compensation for government employees. He also said that one of his goals, if elected, would be to publish all state spending online to increase transparency.

“Providing taxpayers with clearer, more detailed information on how and where public money is being spent is a critical part of the state Controller’s job,” Matthews said in his questionnaire response. “And it will be the top priority for me in that office.”

The state controller is responsible for administering the state’s accounting system, registering vendors, settling claims against the state and collecting debts owed to the state. The controller also serves on the state’s transportation board and the executive branch committee.

Matthews was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He graduated from Boston University and launched a career as a sports journalist at various media outlets, including Fox News and MLB.com. Matthews entered politics in 2005 while working on a New Jersey political race. Ultimately, politics brought him to Nevada, when he moved to the Silver State to serve as a campaign manager for former state lawmaker Bob Beers’ unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2006. 

Matthews has said he felt prompted to run for office following the passage of increased taxes in 2015 under the watch of former Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican. Matthews jumped into the 3rd Congressional District race as a Republican candidate in 2016, but was defeated by Danny Tarkanian in the primary. 

Though unsuccessful in his congressional bid, Matthews defeated Democratic incumbent Shea Backus in Las Vegas’ Assembly District 37 by 2 percentage points in 2020. 

As an assemblyman, Matthews sponsored measures that would have exempted smaller businesses from obtaining a business license, rolled back expanded mail voting, stiffened penalties for government agencies that violate public records laws and created a committee to recommend reductions in government spending. Those measures did not survive in the Democrat-controlled Legislature. 

On his campaign website, Matthews identified the following priorities: making government more transparent and accountable, increasing public access to information about government spending and operations, opposing “destructive” tax hikes, reining in government spending and “restoring fiscal sanity in the state capital.” 

“Nevadans deserve a government that will work to protect our state’s heritage as a land of liberty, prosperity, and opportunity,” Matthews states on his website. “Andy’s commitment to you and to all Nevadans is that as our next state Controller, he’ll fight every day to make sure that’s the kind of government we have.”