CD4 GOP hopefuls divided over Syria
Candidates agree on abortion, taxes
From abortion rights to transgender troops and military action in Syria, four Republicans running in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District delved into the issues Wednesday during a debate hosted by the Mesquite Republican Women.
Former U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy, former talk show host Jeff Miller, Air Force veteran Dave Gibbs and business leader Bill Townsend mostly agreed on abortion, signing a pledge to not raise taxes and fighting for control of federal lands in Nevada. But their differences emerged on foreign policy, climate change and transgender rights issues.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted a promise that U.S. missile strikes in Syria “will be coming” in the wake of a chemical attack on citizens there, and warned Russia, whose leaders had vowed to shoot them down, against partnering with Syria.
Townsendwasadamantthat America should stay out of Syria, which he said would only escalate tensions between the U.S. and Russia. “There is nothing for us to gain by going into Syria,” said Townsend, who leads TV production company Revolutionsports, Inc. and a pharmaceutical research firm.
The U.S. has some troops on the ground in Syria, and Trump ordered a missile strike on Syria last year.
Miller, a former radio show host who now runs a Las Vegas-based horseback riding company, agreed.
“I don’t want to send my sons or your sons to war over some people
DEBATE
tration records show.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said a certificate issue date does not necessarily mean that is the date the pilot received a license. His full certification history wasn’t available Thursday.
FAA records show Valente is a resident of Las Vegas. While police said Valente was 26, a person close to Valente indicated he was 32.
Valente’s Facebook profile shows he has worked as a corporate jet pilot since 2014 and studied aviation management at the University of North Dakota.
He worked as an instructor with All-in Aviation, a Cirrus flight school in Las Vegas, according to a biography page on the school’s website. At 16, he began flight training while at Rancho Aviation Academy High School, according to the website, which adds that he received his private pilot certificate before graduating.
James Louis Pedroza, 28, had a medical certificate but never applied for his student pilot certificate, Gregor said.
The plane that crashed was a Piper PA-24 Comanche. Pedroza posted a photo of a Piper Comanche 260 on his Instagram account in February. FAA records for the plane show its certification status as “terminated or in question.”
Friend Garrett Pattiani, remembers him from when Pedroza worked as a VIP host on the Strip. Pattiani called Pedroza an ally to the LGBTQ community and a person who lived life to the fullest.
“He never judged anyone and was always there to stand up for equal rights,” he said.
The three others killed in the crash were Mariah Sunshine Coogan, 23; Anand Anil Patel, 28; and Iris Carolina Rodriguez Garcia, 23.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter. Review-journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this report.