​Danielle Ford for Governor | 2026 Media Issue Brief​ ​Candidate:​​Danielle Ford​ ​Office:​​Governor of Nevada​ ​Election:​​2026 General Election​ ​Party Affiliation:​​Nonpartisan / No Political Party​ ​Current Elected Office:​​Nevada State Board of Education​ ​Former Elected Office:​​Clark County School District​​Trustee​ ​Campaign Website:​​DanielleForNevada.com​ ​Danielle Ford is not affiliated with the Democratic or Republican Party.​ ​Candidate Overview​ ​Danielle Ford is a Nevada-first nonpartisan candidate for Governor of Nevada in 2026.​ ​She currently serves as an elected member of the Nevada State Board of Education and​ ​previously served as a Clark County School District Trustee. Danielle is running without a​ ​political party affiliation because she believes Nevada’s challenges are too connected to be​ ​solved through party loyalty, donor networks, or national talking points.​ ​Her campaign is focused on practical systems repair: making government more transparent,​ i​mproving the systems families rely on, protecting constitutional rights, following public money,​ ​and making decisions based on Nevada’s needs.​ ​Core Priorities​ ​1. People Over Politics​ ​Danielle believes government should serve people before parties, donors, vendors, or​ i​nstitutions protecting themselves.​ ​Her approach is to judge ideas by whether they solve the problem, not which political side they​ ​came from. She supports more transparency in campaign finance, more meaningful choices for​ ​voters, and public access to information about all legally qualified candidates.​ ​Danielle also believes Nevada’s growing number of nonpartisan voters should not be treated as​ ​an afterthought in a system built around two party primaries.​ ​Core position:​​Public decisions should be based on​​Nevada’s needs, not party instructions.​ ​2. Education​ ​Danielle’s public service began in education, but her education platform is not limited to schools​ ​alone. She believes schools are often expected to absorb failures from other systems: housing,​ ​hunger, healthcare, mental health, transportation, family support, and public safety.​ ​Danielle supports stronger funding for students with disabilities, English learners, educators,​ ​paraprofessionals, school nurses, counselors, social workers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers,​ ​custodians, and other school support staff.​ ​She supports public education, real family options, and public accountability for every public​ ​dollar.​ ​Core position:​​Nevada should fund the students we​​have, not the system we wish we had.​ ​3. Affordability & Opportunity​ ​Danielle believes Nevada cannot call growth successful if the people who live and work here​ ​cannot afford to stay.​ ​Affordability is connected to housing, wages, utilities, insurance, food, childcare, transportation,​ ​water, energy, infrastructure, small business, and economic development. Danielle supports​ i​ncreasing attainable housing, protecting pathways to homeownership, scrutinizing corporate​ ​housing concentration, supporting small businesses, preparing workers for AI-driven changes,​ ​and requiring public benefit from major economic-development deals.​ ​Core position:​​Growth should make Nevada more livable,​​not less.​ ​4. Health & Care Systems​ ​Danielle believes families should not have to become unpaid case managers during the hardest​ ​moments of their lives.​ ​Her health and care platform includes healthcare access, Medicaid, mental health care,​ ​addiction treatment, disability services, long-term care, rehabilitation, caregiving, safe staffing,​ ​nutrition, family stability, and crisis prevention.​ ​She believes Nevada must stop treating care work as invisible labor when the entire system​ ​depends on it.​ ​Core position:​​Care should begin before crisis becomes the only door left open.​ ​5. Safer Communities​ ​Danielle supports accountability for serious harm, protection for victims, and strong public safety​ ​systems.​ ​She also believes police cannot be expected to solve every failure that begins somewhere else.​ ​Mental health, addiction, homelessness, family instability, school failure, and lack of treatment​ ​often show up later as public safety problems. By then, officers are left responding to crises that​ ​should have been addressed earlier.​ ​Danielle supports law enforcement while also strengthening mental health care, addiction​ ​treatment, crisis response, youth intervention, victim services, corrections oversight, and​ ​prevention.​ ​Core position:​​Safer communities require both accountability​​and functioning systems around​ ​public safety.​ ​6. Government That Works​ ​Danielle believes government should not ask the public for trust it has not earned.​ ​Her government-accountability platform focuses on public records, open meetings,​ ​procurement, competitive bidding, no-bid contracts, vendor influence, whistleblower protection,​ ​campaign finance, public communication, AI procurement, and measurable outcomes.​ ​Danielle believes public money belongs to the public. Nevada should close loopholes that avoid​ ​real competition, scrutinize major contracts, disclose who benefits, and tie public spending to​ ​measurable results.​ ​Core position:​​Accountability is not obstruction.​​It is part of governing well.​ ​Specific Issue Positions​ ​Abortion and Reproductive Rights​ ​Danielle supports reproductive freedom and believes deeply personal medical decisions should​ ​be made by patients and their doctors, not politicians.​ ​She supports Nevada’s current legal framework protecting abortion access through 24 weeks,​ ​with later care available when medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant​ ​patient. She also supports protecting access to contraception, miscarriage care, fertility care,​ ​and emergency medical treatment.​ ​Nevada law generally permits abortion through 24 weeks, and after 24 weeks when a physician​ ​has reasonable cause to believe the abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the​ ​pregnant person.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Personal medical decisions should​​stay between patients and doctors, not​ ​be controlled by politicians.​ ​Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship​ ​Danielle believes only eligible U.S. citizens should vote. She supports secure elections,​ ​accurate voter rolls, identity verification, penalties for fraud, and transparent audits.​ ​But she does not support turning voter registration into a paperwork trap for eligible citizens.​ ​Many lawful voters can face barriers because of name changes, missing documents,​ ​transportation, cost, age, disability, tribal access issues, or corrected records.​ ​Any ID or document requirement must be constitutional, funded, accessible, carefully phased in,​ ​and designed so eligible voters are not blocked from participating.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevada should protect election​​integrity and voter access at the same​ ​time.​ ​Gun Safety and Constitutional Rights​ ​Danielle supports lawful gun ownership and respects responsible gun owners who train, store,​ ​and carry safely.​ ​She also believes gun rights come with public responsibility. Nevada should enforce background​ ​checks, strengthen crisis intervention, support training and safe storage, and keep weapons that​ ​are already heavily restricted under state and federal law out of the wrong hands.​ ​Nevada law includes firearm-related provisions including background-check requirements for​ ​certain transfers, concealed-carry permitting, and high-risk protection orders. Machine guns are​ ​separately restricted under state and federal law.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Safety and constitutional rights should not be treated as opposites.​ ​Taxes, Revenue, and the State Budget​ ​Danielle does not believe new taxes should be the first answer to every budget problem.​ ​Before asking Nevadans to pay more, the state should take a harder look at public contracts,​ ​procurement loopholes, no-bid arrangements, tax abatements, vendor influence, administrative​ ​waste, and whether public dollars are producing public value.​ ​Danielle is also open to studying a state lottery if it is transparent, voter-approved where​ ​required, and structured so the public can clearly see who benefits and where the money goes.​ ​Nevada’s Constitution currently restricts lotteries, so any serious proposal would need to​ ​address the legal process honestly.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Public money belongs to the public,​​and budgets should serve people, not​ i​nsiders.​ ​NV Energy and Utility Rates​ ​Danielle believes Nevadans deserve clearer explanations, stronger ratepayer protection, and​ ​more scrutiny of long-term energy decisions.​ ​The Governor does not directly set electric rates. Those decisions go through Nevada’s​ ​utility-regulation process. But a Governor can appoint leaders, demand transparency, support​ ​consumer protection, question long-term infrastructure costs, and push for policies that keep​ ​energy reliable and affordable.​ ​NV Energy is a regulated utility, and utility matters are overseen through Nevada’s Public​ ​Utilities Commission process. Nevada has also debated energy-choice proposals in prior​ ​elections.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevadans should not need to be​​energy experts to understand why their​ ​bills are going up or who benefits from major utility decisions.​ ​Water and the Colorado River​ ​Danielle believes Nevada’s water future requires honesty, innovation, conservation, and​ l​ong-term planning.​ ​Water decisions cannot be separated from growth, housing, agriculture, tribal and rural​ ​communities, data centers, energy development, and the Colorado River. Nevada cannot solve​ ​the Colorado River alone, but it can be more disciplined about what kind of growth it encourages​ ​and what public benefits are promised in exchange for public resources.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevada should protect its water​​future by tying growth and​ ​economic-development decisions to transparent water planning and realistic long-term costs.​ ​Data Centers and AI Infrastructure​ ​Danielle supports innovation, but she does not support giving away public benefits before​ ​Nevada fully understands the public costs.​ ​Before expanding data center tax abatements or infrastructure commitments, Nevada should​ ​require clear public information about water use, energy demand, grid impacts, backup power,​ ​emissions, infrastructure costs, permanent Nevada jobs, ratepayer impacts, and enforceable​ ​public benefits.​ ​Nevada law allows data center companies to apply for partial abatements from certain taxes,​ ​and GOED describes data center abatements as available for qualifying companies that locate​ ​or expand in Nevada.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​If technology companies want​​public support, they should be willing to​ ​provide public answers.​ ​ICE, Immigration, and State Data Privacy​ ​Danielle believes Nevada must follow the law, protect due process, and keep public safety​ ​focused on serious harm.​ ​Immigration enforcement is primarily federal, but Nevada still has responsibility for how state​ ​agencies, schools, data systems, and local partnerships operate within the law. Danielle does​ ​not believe undocumented status alone should be treated the same as violent crime or​ ​organized criminal activity.​ ​She supports clear state policies on data sharing, warrants, subpoenas, due process, school​ ​safety, and public accountability. Schools should remain focused on educating children, and​ ​families should not be afraid to send their children to school.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevada can respect the law, protect​​constitutional rights, and focus​ ​enforcement priorities on serious harm.​ ​Read by Grade 3 and Literacy​ ​Danielle believes every child should be reading well by third grade. She does not believe​ ​mandatory retention should be treated as the main solution when the system failed to intervene​ ​early enough.​ ​Holding a child back affects more than reading. It can affect math, science, art, confidence,​ ​friendships, social development, and long-term engagement in school. Danielle supports earlier​ ​screening, reading specialists and interventionists, tutoring, family book access, community​ ​reading programs, libraries, after-school and summer support, special education screening,​ ​English learner support, and standards-aligned educational content wherever families can​ ​access it.​ ​Nevada’s Department of Education states that AB 289 removed the Grade 3 mandatory​ ​retention requirement from Read by Grade 3.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Children should not pay the price​​for adult systems waiting too long to​ ​respond.​ ​Education Funding, Special Education, and English Learners​ ​Danielle believes school funding should reflect the real cost of serving students well.​ ​That means Nevada must take special education, English learner support, staffing,​ ​transportation, paraprofessionals, school support staff, and student safety seriously. Funding​ ​averages are not enough if classrooms do not have the people and services students actually​ ​need.​ ​Danielle supports stronger support for special education classrooms, safe staffing conditions,​ ​better family communication, language access, and programs that help English learners learn​ ​English while continuing to grow academically.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevada should fund the students​​we have, not the system we wish we​ ​had.​ ​Public Safety, Mental Health, and Addiction​ ​Danielle supports accountability for serious harm, protection for victims, and strong public safety​ ​systems.​ ​She also believes police cannot be expected to solve every failure that begins somewhere else.​ ​Mental health, addiction, homelessness, family instability, school failure, and lack of treatment​ ​often show up later as public safety problems. By then, officers are left responding to crises that​ ​should have been addressed earlier.​ ​Danielle supports law enforcement while also strengthening mental health care, addiction​ ​treatment, crisis response, youth intervention, victim services, corrections oversight, and​ ​prevention.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Supporting police means building​​the systems around them so they are not​ ​expected to solve every failure alone.​ ​Housing and Affordability​ ​Danielle believes Nevada cannot call growth successful if the people who live and work here​ ​cannot afford to stay.​ ​Housing affordability is connected to wages, rent, utilities, insurance, transportation, childcare,​ l​and use, infrastructure, water, and corporate concentration. Danielle supports increasing​ ​attainable housing, protecting pathways to homeownership, scrutinizing corporate ownership​ ​and build-to-rent practices, improving consumer protection, and making sure growth pays​ ​attention to roads, schools, utilities, and community impact.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Nevada should not build an economy​​where working families are priced​ ​out of the state they helped build.​ ​Campaign Finance, Candidate Transparency, and Open Primaries​ ​Danielle believes voters deserve more choices and more transparency.​ ​Political money should not be the gatekeeper for who gets heard, who gets taken seriously, or​ ​who appears in voter information. Danielle supports stronger campaign finance transparency,​ l​egally durable reforms that reduce the influence of money, and public access to information​ ​about all legally qualified candidates.​ ​She also supports reforms that give nonpartisan voters more meaningful participation. Nevada’s​ ​growing number of nonpartisan voters should not be treated as an afterthought in a system built​ ​around two party primaries.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Voters deserve information about​​all legally qualified candidates, not just​ ​the candidates with the most money or party infrastructure.​ ​AI in Schools, Surveillance, and Pricing Algorithms​ ​Danielle uses and teaches AI, and she believes technology can help solve real problems. But​ ​she also believes Nevada needs guardrails before harm becomes normal.​ ​AI and automated systems can affect students, workers, consumers, patients, renters, drivers,​ ​and families without people realizing a machine helped shape the outcome. Danielle supports​ ​transparency, privacy protections, human review, bias testing, student data safeguards,​ ​procurement standards, retention limits, and public accountability before government agencies​ ​adopt powerful surveillance or automated decision systems.​ ​Federal FERPA protections govern many student education records, and automated license​ ​plate reader systems have raised national concerns around retention, sharing, misuse, false​ ​alerts, and oversight.​ ​Danielle’s position:​​Innovation should serve people.​​It should not create systems no one can​ ​question, audit, or control.​ ​Summary for Voter Guides and Candidate Comparisons​ ​Danielle Ford is a nonpartisan candidate for Governor of Nevada running on a systems-repair​ ​platform.​ ​Danielle’s campaign does not fit neatly into one party platform. She supports reproductive​ ​freedom, public education, due process, voter access, and stronger care systems. She also​ ​supports lawful gun ownership, public safety accountability, secure elections, no new taxes as a​ ​first resort, contract scrutiny, procurement reform, and stronger oversight of public spending.​ ​Her nonpartisan position is not that “both sides are the same.” Her position is that Nevada’s​ ​problems are connected, and government should make decisions based on people, evidence,​ ​public accountability, and Nevada’s long-term future.​