Aaron Bautista

Aaron Bautista is a member of the Nevada Board of Regents, representing District 4. He assumed office on January 16, 2025. His current term ends in 2029.

Bautista ran for election to the Nevada Board of Regents to represent District 4. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Bautista completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Aaron Bautista was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He graduated from Eldorado High School. He earned an associate degree from the College of Southern Nevada in 2007, a bachelor's degree from Nevada State College in 2012, and a graduate degree from Grand Canyon University in 2018. Aaron Bautista's career experience includes working as a special education teacher and on the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team at HELP of Southern Nevada.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Nevada Board of Regents District 4

Aaron Bautista defeated Tonia Holmes-Sutton in the general election for Nevada Board of Regents District 4 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Aaron Bautista (Nonpartisan)	58.0	32,911
	Tonia Holmes-Sutton (Nonpartisan)	42.0	23,830

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,741
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nevada Board of Regents District 4

Tonia Holmes-Sutton and Aaron Bautista defeated Richard Carrillo, incumbent Donald Sylvantee McMichael Sr., and Shawn Stamper in the primary for Nevada Board of Regents District 4 on June 11, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tonia Holmes-Sutton (Nonpartisan)	29.4	3,295
✔		Aaron Bautista (Nonpartisan)	28.6	3,199
		Richard Carrillo (Nonpartisan)	18.0	2,020
	Submit photo	Donald Sylvantee McMichael Sr. (Nonpartisan)	13.5	1,509
	Submit photo	Shawn Stamper (Nonpartisan)	10.5	1,173

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,196
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bautista in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Nevada State Assembly District 28

Reuben D'Silva defeated Clint Brown in the general election for Nevada State Assembly District 28 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Reuben D'Silva (D)	67.4	6,323
	Clint Brown (R)	32.6	3,055

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,378
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Nevada State Assembly District 28

Reuben D'Silva defeated Cindi Rivera, Aaron Bautista, and Antonio Bowen in the Democratic primary for Nevada State Assembly District 28 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Reuben D'Silva	64.6	1,252
	Submit photo	Cindi Rivera	17.3	336
		Aaron Bautista	11.9	230
	Submit photo	Antonio Bowen	6.2	121

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,939
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Clint Brown advanced from the Republican primary for Nevada State Assembly District 28.

2019

General election

General election for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3

Olivia Diaz defeated Melissa Clary in the general election for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3 on June 11, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Olivia Diaz (Nonpartisan)	51.4	1,359
	Melissa Clary (Nonpartisan)	48.6	1,285

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,644
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3

The following candidates ran in the primary for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3 on April 2, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Olivia Diaz (Nonpartisan)	33.1	1,016
✔		Melissa Clary (Nonpartisan)	28.3	866
		Ruben J. Kihuen (Nonpartisan)	28.1	861
		David Lopez (Nonpartisan)	3.3	102
		Shawn Mooneyham (Nonpartisan)	2.9	90
		Aaron Bautista (Nonpartisan)	2.3	71
	Submit photo	Mingo Collaso (Nonpartisan)	1.9	59

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,065
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Aaron Bautista completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bautista's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have been part of this community my entire life. As a proud son of union immigrants, I grew up here, went to school here, and now I teache here. I have been a special education teacher for nine years, and am an advocate for East Las Vegas students and the families I work with. I have mentored and trained many teachers, housed the areas homeless, and serve on the Neighborhood Partners Fund Board, and the Our Future East Las Vegas Advisory Board. I understand the needs of East Las Vegas and have what it takes to represent the people and will work tirelessly to make it a better place for ALL.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Make college more accessible and affordable for all.
Create a better learning environment by improving safety, inclusivity, and mental health with a more student centered approach.
Help build a more efficient college to teacher pipeline in NV, and support current educators continuing education.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a teacher and candidate running for Board of Regents, that would be education.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

This office is the board of regents, the thing that makes it and unique is that many students from Nevada's college system are going to be big contributing members of our community, economy and state, so its in the governments best interest to make sure students are successful as they are the future.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents, being a child of immigrants and seeing them persevere is just one of the most admirable traits. As a public school teacher in East Las Vegas, I see so many of the same battles my family had faced and have to root for them and support them every time. My parents worked so hard to give me the best life they could and to give me all the opportunities they could. Even the journey of my parents first coming to this country before I was born is something I look at with so much price. My dad came to this country at 13 years old and worked in the grape fields of Delano California picking grapes under harsh conditions, but him and his brothers did it to support the family. He got to work with Cesar Chavez and took part in the Delano Grape Strike fighting for workers, and still had not even graduated high school yet. He then moved to Las Vegas at 16 and graduated from Rancho High School and took a job at the Dunes as a busboy in 1972 joining the Culinary Union where he was a member for over 30 years. My mom came to this country in the early 70's and was a housekeeper and was also in the Culinary Union for over 30 years when she retired in 2009. As a kid, they took my to rally's at the old Frontier Hotel, The Riviera, and more, they really showed me how to fight for others and stand up for workers, and they showed what it meant to be loyal. They remained married until my mom passed of sudden brain cancer in 2011 and never fought once. They really just wanted what was best for me and my sister. Everything I saw from them and the way they lived was perfect.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Bernie Sanders: Our Revolution

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I like elected officials who are active participants of the community they serve. Anyone can run for office, spend money, and win, but the best elected officials are the ones who actually show up and are with the people, becuase at the end of the day, they are public servants.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

A quality I posses that would make me a successful officeholder is my ability to connect with the people. I build relationships and can really understand the needs and issues of the people I wish to represent. Since I am an educator, I also feel that helps me really represent educational problems my community faces. With my experience, I am able to look at both traditional and non traditional ways to create improvement. I'm honest, I'm real, and I've had many of the same battles growing up that my students face today. I'm also will in to be bold, and shoot for the moon in order to bring change.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listen to the people and represent them. Fight for education.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I fought and did everything I could to leave this world a better place for the next generations.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I can remember was the fall of the Berlin Wall, I believe I was 5 or 6 years old, I didn't know what the significance of it was because I was so young but I remember seeing it on the news. Next, I remember the Gulf War happening but again I was too young to realize the significance of it. The next big event that happened that I can remember was the Rodney King verdict and the LA Riots. This was the first event I actually did kind of understand and had significance in my life. I remember asking my parents why police hurt someone, and why people were racist. I also remember there were riots in West Las Vegas, this era was my first memorable experience of seeing racial tensions.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first actual job with a paycheck was bagging groceries and bringing in shopping carts from the parking lot at Smith's on Nellis and Stewart. I had it for about 8 months, but during that time, I also started working at the Ross Dress for Less across the street, Ross paid more and wanted me to go full time, so I ended up quitting Smiths for Ross. However, when I was younger, I used to walk around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking if I could wash cars or pick weeds out of lawns.

What is your favorite book? Why?

This Is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, a Culture, a Community--a Life in Streetwear by Bobby Hundreds. I like this book because it really is a blue print on writing your own story and carving your own path for success. It's about struggles and failures, but rising to the top. It was very motivational and shows that you dont have to take the same routes as everyone else.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Elmo, everyone loves Elmo.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Flowers and You by Touche Amore

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

People sometimes tell me that I'm always so busy looking out for others, that I don't look out for myself and push myself too hard and need to learn to relax instead of always wanting to be on the go or be doing something.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The responsibility that I consider the most important is that the regents set policies for Nevada's higher education. This office really has a hand in shaping the future of the great state of Nevada.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

There are over 100,000 students that the board of regents will have an affect on with policies they approve, and can make the process more student centered, which I intend to do.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No because when you look at politics and the people in charge, there are so many career politicians involved but with very little change. It's always good to bring in people with fresh ideas who are part of the community and involved with the people they wish to serve. Nevada's education ranking has been so low for so long, so why bring people into the board of regents who have already been at the top, or have so much experience, but haven't really made strides in improving education.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Vision, and the willingness to listen to the people, and will be bold.

Tell us your favorite joke.

What would bears be without bees?

Ears.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

SEIU, National Organization for Women, Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Weekly, City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz, State Senator Edgar Flores, Assemblyman Reuben D'Silva, UFC Fight Khalil Rountree.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financials should be transparent so people will know which unions, pacs, donors, and special interest groups are involved with a certain candidate, and the government should make sure the financials are transparent, especially since these elected officials are going to be the ones in the government. For instance, there was recently a special interest super PAC that spend $8.5 million dollars to get their candidate to 51% of the vote, billionaires buying elections is wrong.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I like the current state ballot initiative process for citizens and oppose changes. I do believe it is a fair process because right now, for an initiative to qualify for the ballot, signatures of 10% of the voter total from the last election is required. Then the initiative has to pass two times for it to be added to the Nevada constitution. However, when it comes to legislative amendments on the ballot, a change should be, if a measure fails, there should be some time before it's brought back onto the ballot. For instance, a question similar to the current ballot measure 1 of removing the Board of Regents from the Nevada Constitution failed in 2020, but in 2021 it was back on the ballot thru SJR7, that almost undoes the will of the voters.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Bautista’s campaign website stated the following:

“

When elected, Aaron will fight for families and students.

Make college more accessible and affordable for all
Create a more efficient college to teacher pipeline in NV and support current educators continuing education
Create a safer and more inclusive learning environment
Make budgets more transparent
Grow Nevada's higher education system
Make NV colleges the premier destination for a higher education!

^[3]

”

—Aaron Bautista’s campaign website (2024)^[4]

2022

Aaron Bautista did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

Aaron Bautista did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Aaron Bautista campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Nevada Board of Regents District 4	Won general	$9,586	$0
2022	Nevada State Assembly District 28	Lost primary	$2,538	$0
Grand total			$12,124	$0
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Nevada Board of Regents District 4

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Elect Aaron Bautista for Regent District 4, "Serving the Community," accessed June 7, 2024
↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 12, 2024
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ [XURLX Aaron Bautista's campaign website, “United By Common Goals,” accessed June 7, 2024]

Political offices
Preceded by Donald Sylvantee McMichael Sr.	Nevada Board of Regents District 4 2025-Present	Succeeded by -

[bio-1] Elect Aaron Bautista for Regent District 4, "Serving the Community," accessed June 7, 2024

[2] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 12, 2024

[quotedisclaimer-3] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[4] [XURLX Aaron Bautista's campaign website, “United By Common Goals,” accessed June 7, 2024]

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Aaron Bautista

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Nevada Board of Regents District 4

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nevada Board of Regents District 4

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Nevada State Assembly District 28

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Nevada State Assembly District 28

Republican primary election

2019

General election

General election for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Las Vegas City Council Ward 3

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign website

2022

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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