ABOUT VENICIA
Venicia moved back to Las Vegas 34 years ago believing this was where she could build a life, by finding a good paying job, affordable rent, and being able pay for college. It took her 7 years - working full-time and going to school part-time - to graduate from UNLV and begin building that life. When her daughter was 5-years-old, Venicia was accepted into the part-time night program at UNLV's Boyd School of Law. Balancing a full-time job, part-time law school, and full-time family was hard, but the opportunity to provide a good life was worth it. During law school, Venicia joined the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and has been there for 15 years, advocating for children, seniors, and families. Venicia knows the work that needs to be done to provide economic stability and security for hardworking Nevada families. Only in Las Vegas can a girl who lived in a campground on Boulder Highway become a successful attorney, and she wants to make sure those same opportunities are here now and in the future.
WHY I'M RUNNING
Las Vegas has been my home now for over thirty-four years and I'm running for re-election to Nevada Assembly District 18 to ensure east Las Vegas families have the opportunities they need to build a good life, with affordable housing, well-paying jobs, and quality education for their families.
My father was a firefighter and my mother sold Tupperware to make ends meet. After my father retired from the New York City Fire Department, we couldn’t afford to live in New York any longer so we moved. A lot. My parents sold our house and all of our belongings and we-- my parents, my sister and me, a dog and 3 cats!-- ended up living in an RV and traveling around the country. I attended 6 different high schools in 4 states where we lived in campgrounds and RV parks. When my sister and I attended Chaparral High School, we lived at the old KOA on Boulder Highway and I got my first real job at the Baskin Robbins on Desert Inn and Sandhill.
Through all my family’s moves, I learned how different the education experience can be, depending on the economic area where you live. I was the transient student that never met with a guidance counselor or was encouraged to think about my life after high school. After graduating, I went to work because college was out of reach financially and I had no idea how to navigate the college system. A few years later, I came back to Las Vegas looking for opportunities and a future.