Nevada Independent: She has has what it takes to win in November.

Who is Minja Yan, the ‘progressive’ underdog who won a Clark County Commission race primary?

At 31, the real estate agent is not only one of the youngest candidates in the open race for District F — she’s one that almost no one expected to be here.

Yet on primary election night, it was Yan who defeated Lloyd, Hovanessian and four other candidates to advance to the general election, where she will face off against Assm. Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) and former state Sen. Becky Harris, a former Republican who is running as a nonpartisan. 

She’s staked her campaign on a vow to “challenge the status quo,” promising to bring light rail to Las Vegas, rezone the county to allow for more housing, reduce urban sprawl, invest in healthcare and education, and promised to not take corporate donations. 

Yan’s bread-and-butter policies are building out transportation infrastructure, conscientious land use, increasing affordable housing and streamlining bureaucratic processes. Recently, she’s also attended at least three county and city board meetings to protest data center development — she is a member of the Sierra Club, an environmental group whose local Nevada chapter has been lobbying hard against data centers. 

Policy is the driving force behind her platform, Yan said. More than anything, she said voters are looking for someone with a plan.

“What we need is a long-term vision. Where are we going as Southern Nevada in the next 20 years? What do we need to set us up for success?” Yan asked. “I don’t see that. You’re not seeing that … cohesive long-term vision.”

If elected, she said she wants to work with local Southern Nevada municipalities to develop a comprehensive regional plan with set performance goals. Right now, she said the status quo is not working, and people are voting with their feet. 

“I know a lot of young people that are born and raised in Las Vegas. Once they graduate they want to move out of our state,” Yan said. “They don’t see that this city provides opportunities for them to stay here. They don’t see themselves having a long-term future here in Las Vegas.”

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