Ira Hansen

Ira Hansen
Member of the Nevada Assembly
from the 32nd district
Assumed office
January 2011
Preceded by Don Gustavson
Personal details
Born (1960-10-05) October 5, 1960
Reno, Nevada
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Alexis
Children 8
Occupation Plumbing Contractor
Religion Latter-day Saints

Ira Hansen (born October 5, 1960) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has been a member of the Nevada State Assembly since 2011, representing district 32 in Northern Nevada. In November 2014, he was designated by Assembly Republicans to be the next Speaker of the Assembly. He withdrew from consideration later that month after a controversy over sexist, racist and homophobic comments he had made in newspaper opinion columns.

Biography

Hansen was born in Reno, Nevada and attended local Washoe County schools. While attending Sparks High School Ira met his wife Alexis. As of 2014 they have been married for 34 years and have 8 children. Hansen started his own plumbing company in 1986 at the age of 26. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been involved in the community as a Sparks Little League coach, a Sparks Pop Warner coach and as a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America. He is a third generation Eagle Scout and all of his four sons are Eagle Scouts.[1]

Hansen was an opinion columnist for the Sparks Tribune and was previously a talk radio host on station KKOH in Reno for five years and later for 99.1 KKFT. He was fired from KKOH when advertisers threatened to pull advertising over comments Hansen made to the effect that the United States should not have such a strong relationship with Israel.[2] As a member of the press and as a non-paid public advocate, he has attended and testified at the Nevada legislature since 1987.[1]

Hansen is a lifetime member of Nevada Bighorns Unlimited, the NRA and other sportsmen and gun rights groups. His website states that he believes in "constitutionally limited government, lower taxes, and individual responsibility".[1] He has been a proponent of states rights and has opposed what he believes is overreach by the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies.[3] Hansen has been an advocate for the construction industry by calling for a reform to Nevada's construction defect laws which he believes hurt the Nevada construction industry and are only benefiting attorneys who "have boasted that they have grossed over a billion dollars in construction defect claims."[4] Hansen is an advocate for the mining industry and says on his website that "mining is the bedrock of Nevada's rural economy even today".[5] He is a member of the Nevada Renewable Energy Coalition and believes in using renewable energy sources to create jobs.[5]

Hansen was elected to the Nevada Assembly in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Assembly speaker designee and fallout

On November 7, 2014, Nevada Assembly Republicans named Hansen as their candidate for the chamber's next Speaker.[6]

Following the announcement, the News Review's Dennis Myers conducted an extensive search of an estimated 800 columns Hansen wrote for the Sparks Tribune from 1994 through 2010, almost all of which were only available on microfilm. Myers had previously written articles exposing the racist and anti-Semitic legislator Pat McCarran, whom Hansen had defended.[7]

In his columns, Hansen has written that the Oklahoma City bombing was a false flag operation orchestrated by the administration of President Clinton, that women do not belong in the United States Armed Forces, that President Obama is a "negro", that he owns and flies a Confederate battle flag, that gays are disproportionally prone to engaging in child abuse, that a "grossly disproportionate" number of crimes are committed by Latinos, and that the relationship between "Negroes and Democrats" is that of a "master-slave relationship with the benevolent master knowing what’s best for his simple minded darkies."[6]

Hansen's comments drew national attention.[8][9][10][11] Fellow Sparks Tribune columnist Andrew Barbano said that "I believe Ira is an overt bigot, racist and homophobe";[6] the Reno-Sparks NAACP called his views "racist, bigoted, and homophobic" and called for his selection as Speaker to be reconsidered.[12] Hansen apologized on November 20, saying that it was "unfortunate" that his comments had been "taken out of context" and "portrayed as intentionally hurtful and disrespectful", saying that "these comments made nearly 20 years ago" as an opinion columnist were "meant to be purposely provocative in various political, cultural and religious views."[13]

Hansen wrote an open letter on the press page of his website, saying "I freely admit my choice of words was at times very poor. As a columnist, I was encouraged to write provocatively but over the last 20 years I have learned that there is a line between being provocative and being offensive. There were times when I crossed that line. My intention was not to offend, and for any offense I have caused I again sincerely apologize." He also responded to specific things he had said.[14] He further claimed that "this has been a carefully orchestrated attack to remove a conservative Republican from a major leadership role in State government. The deliberate character assassination and the politics of personal destruction have totally distorted my views and record."[15] In an interview with Jon Ralston,[16] Hansen said he believed that Republican Governor Brian Sandoval took advantage of the situation and quickly called for him to step down as Speaker-designee because Sandoval was planning large tax increases which Hansen and other conservative Republicans were not supportive of.[17] On November 23, Hansen announced that he was stepping down as candidate for the Speaker of the Assembly because he did not want his comments to hurt the party.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 http://www.irahansen.com/#!about-ira/cjg9
  2. ↑ "How Ira Hansen got the boot". News Review. October 4, 2001. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevada/hansen-seeks-limit-blm-forest-service-police-powers
  4. ↑ http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/dec/07/construction-defects-law-under-microscope/
  5. 1 2 http://www.irahansen.com/#!issues/cee5
  6. 1 2 3 "On paper Republican leader left a trail". News Review. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ https://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/hansen-i-need-step-down
  8. ↑ "Calling Nevada's Incoming Speaker Racist And Sexist Would Be A Huge Understatement". The Huffington Post. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Chokshi, Niraj (November 20, 2014). "Nevada’s new Assembly speaker has a long history of controversial comments about women, blacks and gays". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ ""Simple-minded darkies": Meet the white supremacist who’s about to be Nevada’s House speaker". Salon. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Ira Hansen, Nevada’s incoming Assembly speaker, under fire for racist comments". Las Vegas Sun. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  12. ↑ "NAACP lashes out at new Nevada Assembly speaker". Las Vegas Review-Journal. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Update: Hansen 'sorry' after inflammatory columns highlighted". Reno Gazette-Journal. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://www.irahansen.com/#!press/ciml
  15. ↑ http://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/hansen-i-need-step-down
  16. ↑ http://www.mynews3.com/content/video/default.aspx?videoID=5471338
  17. ↑ "Nevada Speaker-Elect Steps Down After Racist Writings Emerge". Huffington Post. November 23, 2014.
  18. ↑ Terkel, Amanda (November 23, 2014). "Nevada Speaker-Elect Ira Hansen Steps Down After Racist And Sexist Writings Emerge". Huffington Post.

External links

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