Former Nevada Speaker Dies After Long Career in Public Service

Former Nevada Speaker John Hambrick, a Republican representative who championed the fight against human trafficking and took up the torch for youthful offenders, has died. He was 79.

Hambrick was diagnosed with throat cancer in October and died Wednesday evening in Ohio.

Friends and former colleagues remember the longtime lawmaker as someone who wanted to help children and never had a “negative bone in his body.” He was a civil servant from day one, says his old advisor Nathan Emens.

From White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Hambrick attended the University of Minnesota before attending multiple law enforcement institutions. He began his career in the Secret Service, where he was part of a counter-sniper team stationed at the White House, before working as an investigator for the federal Inspector General’s office and as an agent for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Hambrick moved to Nevada in 1999 and first ran for Las Vegas City Council, although he lost that race. He then ran for the General Assembly in 2008 and won. He served in the Legislature for twelve years before reaching his term limit.

During his tenure in the Legislature in Summerlin Assembly District 2, Hambrick had his fingerprints on many bills, some of which he carried himself and others that he helped work on behind the scenes.

His passion was the fight against human trafficking, introducing a bill on the subject every session. He made Bill 380 In 2009, the state was able to freeze the assets of people who commit crimes involving child sex trafficking, with the money going to the victims. Assembly Bill 338 that required the state to post signs at locations suspected as human trafficking hotspots.

Hambrick also had criminal justice reform bills that targeted minors, such as one that called for expunging the records of former sex workers who had given birth so they could get jobs, Emens said.

In 2015, Hambrick was also the lead sponsor of a juvenile justice bill that called for the elimination of life sentences without the possibility of parole for people under the age of 18, according to Nevada Chairman Steve Yeager, who worked with Hambrick when Yeager was a lobbyist for the public defender’s office.

“It was important to him that people had second chances,” the now Democratic speaker said. “He really believed in the idea of redemption.”

Although Hambrick was a Republican, he was not afraid to cross party lines if that was something he believed was right, Emens said.

“If it helped a kid, he didn’t care about partying,” Emens said.

According to former Assemblyman Stephen Silberkraus, who worked with Hambrick in the Legislature, the former speaker was instrumental in pushing former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval’s agenda out of the Legislature.

In 2015, Hambrick sided with Sandoval on raising taxes on education, a move that was met with outrage by anti-tax conservatives who failed attempt to recall him from office. Several education reforms were introduced during that session, including Sandoval had called the ‘education session’.

He worked closely with then-Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson pass the “Breakfast After the Bell Program” legislation that ensured no student would go hungry, Emens said.

Hambrick always took the time to sit down with other lawmakers and wanted to hear their thoughts. He also wasn’t so fervent in his views that he didn’t want to hear what anyone had to say, Silberkraus said.

“He was a politician who could disagree with you, but would never be disagreeable,” Silberkraus said.

Hambrick was the right person to serve as speaker during that session, when there was infighting among the Republican Party. Hambrick did his best to unite them, Yeager said.

As a speaker, Hambrick was thoughtful, Yeager said. He wouldn’t respond at that moment, but instead would take a step back and think about something. Yeager tries to emulate that as a speaker.

“Decisions are better when you have time to think about them,” he said. “I never saw him get confused and react negatively.”

Hambrick will be remembered for his kindness and his love of children, his friends and former colleagues said. He and his late wife Nancy decorated their home for Christmas like no other, Silberkraus said, and “it was like walking into a winter wonderland.”

Nevada Assemblyman Philip “PK” O’Neill, a close friend, said Hambrick’s face lit up every time he talked about how he played Santa Claus in the White House during his time in the Secret Service. He will be remembered for the more than 50 years of service he provided to the state, his district and the country, he said.

“He had such a big heart and cared about that youthful spirit,” Silberkraus said.

Hambrick was the “epitome” of a distinguished gentleman “who put others above himself, service above self and never let the hardships of the world take away the joy that was within him and that he shared with all others,” Silberkraus said.

His funeral will take place on November 16 in Grove City, Ohio.

Contact Jessica Hill at [email protected]. To follow @jess_hillyeah on X.