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keep their obligation to protect workers and to make one significant change: no smoking.

He said casinos were afraid to alienate visitors, but he pledged to promote anti-smoking rules inside the gaming establishments because the virus can damage people’s lungs.

He also called for a more unified approach by state governors to respond to the pandemic and said Nevada should be leading in the use of blockchain technology to secure personal protective equipment.

Blockchain is a database in which information is decentralized and communally maintained. Some tech companies are employing it to link equipment suppliers with

governments and the health care sector in order to address shortages.

As the son of a New York firefighter — he said his dad served for over three decades — O’Sullivan said that the commission needed to do all it could to thank first responders.

“Having seen his commitment, I realize that people are making great sacrifices,” he said, choking up.

County officials must also address the underlying causes of issues that the pandemic has brought to light, such as unemployment, homelessness and food insecurity, he added.

“It’s going to be a hard road ahead for the next 18 months, I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “I’m scared and it’s going to be a challenge.”

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Pitch to voters:

O’Sullivan

frames his candidacy as one rooted in promoting workers’ rights and untethered to corporate interests: “We need to address the concerns of everyday people and not the concerns of the people that are vested in the power structure.”

He considers himself a moderate Democrat with a strong business sense, earning a political science degree and minor in economics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He said he subscribes to the four freedoms outlined in a 1941 speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt: freedom of speech and of religion, and freedom from want and from fear.

O’Sullivan said he will prioritize infrastructure projects and he supports a cargo airport in Ivanpah and distribution and logistics companies such as Amazon that can bring 21st century jobs to Nevada.

In general, O’Sullivan said he

is a hard worker who can stand up for himself and is not afraid to support issues that may not be popular. Currently an unemployed casino worker who took his fair share of losses in the commercial real estate market, he said he is not any different than the community’s most marginalized, except they are dealing with more stress.

He said he wants to see improved community programs to help them with essential things such as soap, paper towels and hygiene products.

“It’s not about politics, in terms of party. The time has passed where you can afford to not care,” he said. “We have to care. We have to care about everybody. We’re all in this together.”