- Danny Tarkanian
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Danny Tarkanian Personal details Born December 18, 1961
Redlands, California, U.S.Political party Republican Spouse(s) Amy Hanson Tarkanian Children Lois, Ashley, Ava and Jerry Alma mater Dixie State College of Utah, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of San Diego School of Law Religion Armenian Apostolic Website Official site Daniel John "Danny" Tarkanian (born December 18, 1961) is an American real estate and small business owner. In 2004, Tarkanian ran for the Nevada Senate and lost the general election. In 2006, he won the Republican nomination for Nevada Secretary of State, but lost in the general election. In 2010 he was a Republican primary candidate for U.S. Senator, losing to Sharron Angle.
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Early life
Tarkanian was born in Redlands, California, the third of four children. He is the son of Jerry Tarkanian, a former prominent UNLV basketball coach, and Lois Tarkanian (née Huter),[1] a Las Vegas City Councilwoman, educator of handicapped children, administrator, and a Co-founder for California's first private school for the deaf.
When Tarkanian was teenager, he moved into three different California cities (Riverside, Pasadena, Huntington Beach) because his father advanced in his professional career.
The Tarkanian family moved to Nevada in 1973 while Danny was 12. He attended Hyde Park Junior High School and later Bishop Gorman High School. He achieved honors in all four years.
After graduating high school, he spent one year at Dixie State College of Utah, before becoming a student-athlete at UNLV and being coached by his own father.[2]
Athletics
At Bishop Gorman High School, he played both basketball and football, and both sports teams went into the playoffs and won state championships. In basketball, he played point guard. In football, he played QB and was named All-Conference and All-State at his position twice. He was also named the Nevada’s Most Valuable Player.
He played basketball one season at Dixie State, where his team to the regional playoffs. He was named the school’s Male Freshman of the Year.
Danny played 3 seasons, 1981–1984, for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball.[3] He was the starting point guard and captain. In his sophomore year, his team won 24 straight games and was ranked Number One nationally.
He was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1984 NBA Draft in Round 8.[4]
Academics
At UNLV, Danny was twice named First-Team Academic All-American by the NCAA[citation needed]. He was the school’s first Rhodes Scholar candidate[citation needed] and received the NCAA post-graduate award[citation needed].
Following graduation, Danny attended University of San Diego School of Law, where he finished third in his class[citation needed].
Professional career
Danny passed the Nevada Bar Exam and practiced law for eight years, four as proprietor of his own firm.
In 1995, Jerry Tarkanian became the head coach for the Fresno State Bulldogs basketball team at Fresno State, where Danny joined his father as an assistant coach. The team qualified for the post-season every year during Tarkanian's tenure.
Danny moved back to Las Vegas following his father’s retirement. He started a real estate investment business and he co-founded the Tarkanian Basketball Academy.
Political career
Run for Nevada Senate
Campaign
On May 4, 2004 Tarkanian filed to run in Nevada's 11th District (map) against incumbent Michael A. Schneider.[5]
Results
2004 Nevada Senate election in Clark County District 11[6] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Michael A. Schneider 13,649 54% Republican Danny Tarkanian 11,746 46% Majority Turnout Democratic hold Swing Aftermath
Following the election, Tarkanian successfully sued his Democratic opponent for defamation. During the campaign, Schneider accused Tarkanian of setting up telemarketing companies that ran scams victimizing senior citizens and that he turned "state's evidence" against the telemarketers to avoid being prosecuted. Tarkanian practiced civil law until 1995 and stated that he helped set up the companies, but had no involvement in the day-to-day operations of any of them was not aware that any of the companies were already engaged in illegal activity at the time that he helped to set them up. The case went to trial on July 27, 2009. Schneider stood by statements he made in a 2004 debate with Tarkanian and in campaign ads and fliers accusing Tarkanian. Former assistant U.S. Attorney Leif Reid, son of Nevada U.S. Senator Harry Reid, testified that Tarkanian was not part of the investigation into the companies. On July 31, a Clark County District Court jury ruled in Tarkanian's favor and awarded him $50,000 in damages. On August 3, Schneider agreed to pay a $150,000 settlement in the case.[7][8]
Run for Nevada Secretary of State
Campaign
In December 2005, Tarkanian announced his second bid for public office, this time a statewide election for Nevada Secretary of State.[9] He defeated Brian Scroggins in the Republican primary and faced Democratic nominee Ross Miller, the son of former Nevada governor Bob Miller in the general election.
Results
2006 Nevada Secretary of State election[10] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Ross Miller 279,510 48.7% Republican Danny Tarkanian 232,705 40.6% Independent American Janine Hansen 38,757 6.8% None of These Candidates 22,666 4.0% Majority Turnout Democratic hold Swing Run for U.S. Senate
Campaign
Main article: United States Senate election in Nevada, 2010In 2009, Tarkanian announced that he would run against Democratic U.S. Senator Harry Reid, who is currently the Senate Majority Leader. Before other candidates entered the primary, Tarkanian was the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Former Nevada Republican Chairwoman Sue Lowden and Former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle entered the primary field shortly after Tarkanian's announcement and quickly overtook him in the polls. However, polls comparing the hypothetical matches of the leading Republicans versus Reid indicated a slight edge for Tarkanian: In the average of three polls taken from May 28 to June 3, Tarkanian polled 2% higher than Lowden and 3% higher than Angle against Reid. Those polls indicated Tarkanian had a lead of about 1% over Reid.[citation needed] Angle won the nomination with Tarkanian finishing third in the field. Angle ultimately lost the general election to Reid.
Results
Republican Primary results [11] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Sharron Angle 70,422 40.1% Republican Sue Lowden 45,871 26.1% Republican Danny Tarkanian 40,926 23.3% Republican John Chachas 6,925 3.9% Republican Chad Christensen 4,803 2.7% Republican None of these 3,090 1.8% Republican Bill Parson 1,483 0.8% Republican Gary Bernstein 698 0.4% Republican Garn Mabey 462 0.2% Republican Cecilia Stern 355 0.2% Republican Brian Nadell 235 0.1% Republican Terry Suominen 223 0.1% Republican Gary Marinch 178 0.1% Totals 175,691 100% Personal life
In October 2001, Danny married Amy Hanson. The couple currently lives in Las Vegas and they have three daughters and one son: Lois, Ashley, Ava, and Jerry Jr. In 2011, Amy Tarkanian was elected chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party.
References
- ^ "Danny Tarkanian - Conservative Columnist and Political Commentator". Townhall.com. 2009-08-27. http://townhall.com/Columnists/DannyTarkanian. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "UNLV Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". Unlvrebels.cstv.com. http://unlvrebels.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/archive/unlv-m-baskbl-lettermen.html. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ By InsideHoops.com (2005-06-09). "1984 NBA Draft". InsideHoops.com. http://www.insidehoops.com/nba-draft/1984.shtml. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ Kirsten Searer. "Assemblyman from Henderson says he won't run this year - Wednesday, May 5, 2004 | 11:29 a.m.". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2004/may/05/assemblyman-from-henderson-says-he-wont-run-this-y/. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ "Las Vegas Review Journal archive search - 2004 election results". http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LVRB&p_theme=lvrb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1064E15C03377732&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ David Kihara. "Schneider, Tarkanian both on hand as libel trial begins". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/51944117.html. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ Jeff Pope. "Schneider to pay Tarkanian $150,000 to settle lawsuit". Las Vegas Sun. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/03/danny-tarkanian-get-150000-punitive-damages-defama/. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "UNLV Ex-Coach's Son Seeking State Office". The America's Intelligence Wire. December 2, 2005. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11924339_ITM.
- ^ "2006 Secretary of State General Election Results - Nevada". Uselectionatlas.org. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?fips=32&year=2006&f=0&off=7&elect=0. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
- ^ "Nevada Senate Primary Results". NV Secretary of State. June 8, 2010. http://www.silverstate2010.com/USSenateStateWide.aspx#AllRace1080. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
External links
Categories:- 1961 births
- American people of Armenian descent
- Armenian Apostolic Christians
- American basketball players
- Basketball players from California
- San Antonio Spurs draft picks
- Dixie State College alumni
- Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches
- Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
- Living people
- Armenian lawyers
- Nevada lawyers
- People from San Bernardino County, California
- University of San Diego School of Law alumni
- UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players
- Nevada Republicans
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