Workforce development specialist, former state legislator face off in regent race

Five Nevada Board of Regents seats are on the ballot this year, but only one is an open seat not featuring an incumbent. That race, for District 5 in Southern Nevada, will bring to the board either a former state legislator or a current higher education professional with a background in workforce development programming.

The Board of Regents oversees the Nevada System of Higher Education, which is composed of two research universities, a state university, four community colleges, and a research institute. NSHE enrolls more than 100,000 students, according to their website, and has a biennium budget of more than $2 billion dollars.

In 2023, the Nevada State Legislature passed a bill to reduce the number to regents from 13 to nine. They also shortened the term length of regents from six years to four years beginning with the 2028 election. To align with those changes, the winners of this year’s regents races will have truncated terms and have to run for re-election in 2028.

Regents run in nonpartisan races, but the board often features elected officials with experience in partisan politics.

District 5, which covers areas of North Las Vegas and Winchester, is currently represented by Patrick Boylan. Boylan, who was elected in 2020, has been the subject of much criticism for making racist, discriminatory and anti-transgender comments. He ran for re-election this year but came in fourth in a crowded six-person primary.

Former Nevada state legislator Mo Denis came in first in the primary, receiving 30% of votes. Stephanie Molina, a workforce development program coordinator at Nevada State University, came in second place with 20% support.

Now, Denis and Molina will face off on the general election ballot.

Denis, a Democrat, is no stranger to public office, having represented the area for 18 years in the Nevada State Legislature, including a stint as Senate majority leader. His legislative experience includes playing a major role in the 2019 revamping of the state’s K-12 education funding formula.

Denis told the Nevada Current earlier this year he hadn’t planned to run for another office after he termed out of the Legislature in 2022, but he felt compelled to run for regent because he felt the board was being “sidetracked” and “losing focus on students.”

Molina, also a registered Democrat, would be a newcomer to elected office, though she has previously served as president of the executive board president of UNLV’s Graduate and Professional Student Association and been a voting member of the Nevada Student Alliance. According to her campaign website, she wants to bring her experience with workforce and economic development programming to the board and “help build a higher education system that is more accessible, accountable, and responsive to the people it serves.”

“Having seen the system from multiple vantage points, as a student leader, a participant in faculty governance, and a higher education professional focused on workforce development, I am prepared to bring a thoughtful, data-informed, and service-driven perspective to the Board,” she wrote in a candidate survey for the Nevada Faculty Alliance.

In his survey responses, Denis wrote he views higher education as “central to Nevada’s economic diversification, workforce development, and community engagement. It creates pathways to opportunity, supports innovation, and strengthens communities across our state.”

The Nevada Faculty Alliance has endorsed Denis, as has the Culinary Union, Laborers, Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Clark County Education Association, and Nevada State Education Association.

According to her most recent campaign finance report, filed in mid-July, Molina did no fundraising during the first half of the year.

Denis raised nearly $39,000 during that period and spent most of it, entering July with $5,780 on hand. About a quarter of the amount raised was self funded. Other top contributors include the Clark County Education Association, Vegas Chamber, and Assemblymember Selena Torres-Fossett (D-Las Vegas).

The next campaign finance reports are due in mid-October.