| Bob Beers | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nevada Senate from the Clark 6 district |
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| In office 2004 -2008 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | October 14, 1959 Livermore, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah |
| Religion | Protestant |
Robert T. "Bob" Beers is a Republican and was a member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 6 (map) from 1999 to 2008. He previously served in the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2003.
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A certified public accountant (CPA) since 1989, Beers founded Las Vegas computer accounting consultants Wilson, Beers & Alu in 1989, and sold it to a large local CPA firm in 2002. Currently, he is the managing member of Seale and Beers, CPAs.[1]
Prior to his licensure as a Certified Public Accountant, Beers worked for radio broadcasting companies in Reno and Las Vegas as News Director. In 1982, he won "Best Miniseries" and "Best Newscast" awards from the Associated Press in the AP's Medium Market California-Nevada-Hawaii division.
In 1998, Beers was elected to the Nevada Assembly (Nevada's Legislature is part-time, meeting four months every two years). As Assemblyman representing District 4, Beers served in three regular and three special session. He was assigned to the Ways & Means, Commerce & Labor, and Elections, Procedures & Ethics committees of the Assembly.
In 2003, Beers led a one-third coterie of legislators in opposition to Governor Guinn's $1.25-billion dollar, 33% increase in state spending and taxing. The following year Beers was elected to the Nevada Senate, defeating 20-year incumbent Republican Ray Rawson who had supported the increases.
For the 2005 Legislative Session, Beers was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where he helped direct about half the Senate Republicans' traditional "pork" spending toward reducing the Nevada Income Tax (Payroll Tax) by 3%. He also served as a member of the Committees on Natural Resources and Legislative Operations. As a Senator, Beers has already served one regular session and two special sessions.
In 2006, Beers spearheaded gathering over 150,000 signatures to put a TABOR-style amendment (called TASC for Tax And Spend Control) on the November 2006 general election ballot. He ran for Governor that year, but lost in the August 15 primary to Congressman Jim Gibbons who went on to win the general election.
In April 2008, Beers abruptly recessed the Nevada Republican Convention when the Ron Paul faction appeared on the verge of sweeping the election for delegates to the national convention. Although the reason given was that the convention ran out of time, the convention was never reconvened and ultimately the party leadership named the delegates. Ron Paul supporters say that they were cheated and that Bob Beers facilitated the cheating process.
In 2008, Beers was defeated for reelection by Democrat Allison Copening in a year of sweeping Democratic victories. Some say the victories were driven by the popularity and campaign organization of Barack Obama while others contend the Nevada Democratic Party conducted a campaign of political slander.[2] A libel lawsuit brought against the Party by Beers was settled out of court in 2010.[3]
Beers moved to Las Vegas at age 11, graduating from Clark High School (with high honors) in 1977, and from UNLV (with distinction) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in 1987.
His community activities have included or include: volunteer treasurer for Southern Nevada Clean Communities and the Nevada Republican Party; president of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Business Expo; and President-elect for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Business Council. As a volunteer, he has created or maintained websites for over a dozen community organizations. He is a member of the Las Vegas Northwest Rotary Club, Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants, U.S. Chess Federation, and the American Mining History Association.
