Ginger Simpson seeks reelection as Nye County public administrator

Ginger L. Simpson is asking Nye County voters to keep the office that handles some of the hardest moments after a death, from securing property to arranging funerals when family is absent. The Pahrump native is seeking reelection as Nye County public administrator in the June 9 Republican primary against Bill Hockstedler.

Simpson’s campaign leans heavily on her long ties to Pahrump and on a record that stretches across the office itself. She served as deputy public administrator from 2014 to 2016, was appointed public administrator after Robin Dorand-Rudolf resigned effective Aug. 1, 2016, then won election in 2018 and reelection in 2022. Her office is based at 250 N. Hwy 160, Ste. 7, Pahrump, NV 89060.

The job is not ceremonial. Nye County says the public administrator oversees estates of deceased residents who have no qualified person willing or able to administer them. The office can secure property when there are no relatives able to protect it or when delay could endanger it, step in when there are no known heirs, no executor has been appointed, or a named executor fails to act, and work with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office or Coroner when relatives cannot be found. It can also make funeral arrangements when family members are absent or ask for help.

That practical role has become part of a bigger fight over county government structure. Nye County posted notice of Bill No. 2026-04, a proposal to repeal Chapter 2.52 of county code and abolish the elected public administrator office, replacing it with a system in which the county could employ, contract with or designate someone to do the work. Simpson’s reelection bid, in that context, is also a defense of the elected office itself.

At a Nye County Republican Club debate on May 7, Simpson said the role is misunderstood and called it “the only position in Nye County that you don’t pay for.” She has also said she wants legislation or county practice changed so Nye County is notified when a resident dies in another county, arguing that without that notice the office cannot move quickly enough to protect estates.

For voters, the race turns on a basic question: who can combine procedural competence with the trust needed to work inside grieving families, the courts and the sheriff and coroner systems that surround death administration in rural Nye County. Simpson is betting that familiarity and continuity still matter most.