ABOUT JIM GIBBONS

A native of Sparks, NV, United States Congressman Jim Gibbons has represented Nevada's 2nd District in the House of Representatives since 1997. Before being elected to Congress, Jim served three terms in the Nevada State Assembly and was the author of the 1994 Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative. In Congress, Jim Gibbons has led the fight against increased spending, increased taxes and bigger government and bureaucracy.

Distinguished military career 
Prior to coming to Congress, Gibbons gained a distinguished military background. A former combat pilot and decorated veteran of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, Jim served in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971 and graduated from the USAF Air Command and Staff College as well as the Air War College. Attaining the rank of Colonel, Jim joined the Nevada Air Guard in 1975, and served as the group's Vice Commander from 1990 through 1996.

Throughout his military service, Jim received 19 service medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross for his extraordinary achievement while participating as an RF-4C Flight Leader in the Gulf War. On this mission, Jim flew his unarmed aircraft on a vital reconnaissance mission to acquire politically sensitive imagery of enemy targets in Kuwait.

Nevada State Legislator
Jim served three terms in the Nevada State Assembly. In 1988, his first year as a state legislator, he was named "Outstanding Freshman Legislator." Five days after his re-election to office in 1990 , Jim received the call to report for active combat duty in the Persian Gulf War. He returned to the U.S. in April of 1991 to a thunderous welcome from the people of Nevada and soon resumed his seat in the State Legislature. In 1993, Jim rose to Republican Whip in the State Assembly, and in 1994, he was the Republican nominee for Governor. In 1998, his wife, Dawn Gibbons, ran successfully for the Nevada State Assembly. She was re-elected both in 2000 and again in 2002, when she received more votes than any other Nevada state legislative candidate.

Authored Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative
In 1994, Jim authored the Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative. As a private citizen, he collected 85,000 signatures from residents across Nevada to place a ballot question before the voters to amend the State Constitution. An overwhelming majority of Nevada voters (78% in 1994 and 71% in 1996) supported the amendment to the Nevada Constitution, which requires a 2/3 super-majority to increase any state tax.

Jim earned his BS in Geology and his MS in Mining Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno. He received his JD from Southwestern Law School and passed the bar exam in 1982.

Jim resides in Reno with his wife, Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons. They have three children - Christopher, Jennifer, and Jimmy - and one grandson, Grant Gibbons.