Dean Heller

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Dean Heller

Representative-elect from Nevada's 2nd district
Term of office: term begins 2007
Political party:	Republican
Succeeding:	Jim Gibbons
Religion:	Mormon
Born:	May 10, 1960 Castro Valley, California
Spouse:	Lynne Heller

Dennis M. "Dean" Heller (born May 10, 1960) is the Secretary of State of Nevada and the Representative-Elect for the state's 2nd Congressional District.

[edit] Biography

A native of Carson City, Heller earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, specializing in finance and securities analysis, from the University of Southern California in 1985. He then worked as an institutional stockbroker and as a broker/trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange. [1]

Heller served in the Nevada Assembly from 1990-94. He was first elected Secretary of State in 1994, and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002.

As Secretary of State, Heller was the third-highest-ranking constitutional officer in Nevada, serving as its Chief Elections Officer. His office included the Elections Division, Commercial Recordings Division, Securities Fraud Division and the Notary Division. In his official capacity, Heller was also a member of the Board of Examiners (which includes the governor and attorney general), State Prison Board, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

[edit] 2006 Congressional race

Main article: Nevada 2nd congressional district election, 2006

Heller announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in 2005. On August 15, 2006, he narrowly won the Republican primary for the congressional seat being vacated by gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons. Heller received 24,781 votes to Assemblywoman Sharron Angle's 24,353. Dawn Gibbons, a former State Assemblywoman and wife of the incumbent, finished third with 17,328 votes. [2] Angle had unsuccessfully appealed for a new primary election because of cases in Washoe County where people could not vote because of voters who did not show up on election day and other irregularities. [3]

Heller defeated Nevada University Regent and Democratic candidate Jill Derby in the November general election by nearly five per cent [4]. He will succeed Republican incumbent Jim Gibbons, the winner of the 2006 Nevada Gubernatorial Election.