Michael L. "Mike" Montandon is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He is the former mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of North Las Vegas

North Las Vegas, Nevada

North Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city was incorporated on May 16, 1946.-Geography:...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 and a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 gubernatorial candidate in the Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010

Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010

The 2010 Nevada gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of Nevada, who will serve a four-year term to begin on January 3, 2011...

.

Personal life

Montandon is a graduate of Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

. He also completed the Harvard University Program for Senior Executives at the John F. Kennedy School of Government

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...

.

2010 gubernatorial election

Montandon, current Governor Jim Gibbons

Jim Gibbons

Jim Gibbons may refer to:*Jim Gibbons , Republican governor of Nevada*Jim Gibbons , Irish Fianna Fáil politician and government minister...

, and former federal judge Brian Sandoval

Brian Sandoval

Brian Edward Sandoval is an American politician. He is the 29th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Nevada since January 3, 2011. Sandoval is a former judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada...

have all announced their intentions to run. Montandon announced his candidacy in the summer of 2009.

Issues

Montandon is running on conservative credentials in the primary, on a platform including the following points:

• A "guarantee that 65% of every education dollar goes into our classrooms."
• Supporting "pro-life" values.
• Verification that "every person has the right to a secret ballot in any election that our government oversees."
• Opening Yucca Mountain because "it will bring new, high paying jobs to Nevada."
• Support of "a low tax environment [that] will bring businesses into the state and provide better jobs for all Nevadans."

Montandon supports the following:

• Second amendment rights: "Our ignorance is assumed, even counted on, in the war against our freedoms. Even a cursory examination of the history of the first ten amendments to our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, would give us an indisputable argument against the forces that assail our liberties."
• The use of a minimum of 65 percent of primary-school education spending in the classroom: "It is clear to me that the first step is to establish a benchmark of ensuring that sixty five cents out of every dollar that Nevada spends on elementary education goes directly into the classroom. This will immediately establish the primacy of educating over bureaucracy."
• Economic growth through stable government policy: "Every politician talks about bringing high paying jobs to Nevada. These jobs don't come to Nevada unless Nevada sets its economic table properly."

On his opponents

Montandon called opponent Brian Sandoval a quitter as Sandoval jumped into the race in September 2009:

"Brian Sandoval quit mid-term in the Nevada Assembly. Brian Sandoval quit in the middle of his term as attorney general, virtually handing the office to a liberal Democrat in the next election. And now, Brian Sandoval says he will quit his job as a federal judge and give (President) Barack Obama the opportunity to appoint another liberal judge to the federal bench. Since when is quitting a qualification for governor?"

External links

• Mike Montandon for Governor (campaign website)