ABOUT PK
PK O’Neill is the Assembly Minority Leader of the Nevada State Legislature. He is a Republican who has been protecting Carson City for over 40 years between his law enforcement career and time at the Nevada State legislature. He served on the Nevada Commission on Ethics and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Carson Tahoe Health Systems. He is also the Former Chairman of the Salvation Army of Carson City & Douglas County Advisory Board.
PK’s background was in law enforcement, and he retired as a Division Chief at the Nevada Department of Public Safety. Upon retirement, he began work as a consultant with the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the FBI, developing and deploying the National Law Enforcement Data Exchange to criminal justice agencies across the country. From there he worked with various private companies and governmental agencies to better their business practices with regard to Information Technology applications where he identified problem areas, analyzed data and developed solutions.
With a strong desire to serve the State from a different perspective, PK ran for the State Assembly in 2014 and was elected, serving during the 78th Session. During that first session, he was able to get five of his bills passed and signed into law. These included enhancements for crimes against the elderly, decreasing the cost of public school construction, allowing law enforcement to use improved technology, improving registration for the draft and augmenting the Nevada State Prison (NSP) Preservation Society efforts to preserve the old NSP as a museum.
After one term, PK went back to local areas of service. Then, in 2019, after much thought and urging from his colleagues, PK decided to run again and was elected to the Nevada State Legislature. During this last session, he sponsored four bills that ultimately passed. Those bills were focused on mental health (AB315), Veterans (AB316), increasing tourism opportunities (AB270), and decreasing government red tape and taxes (AB414).
At the legislature, PK teamed with other conservative legislators to found the Legislative Freedom Caucus, the first state caucus to be recognized by the National Freedom caucus. PK was proud to be ranked as one of the Nevada Policy Research Institute’s Top Ten Conservative legislators and earned a 94.01% rating. He also garnered the support of top conservative groups like National Rifle Association (NRA), Nevada Firearms Coalition (NFA), Power2Parent, and The Liberty PAC.
PK has been married to Nancy O’Neill for over 20 years, a retired social worker with the Division of Child and Family Services. They are empty-nesters with four adult children and six grandchildren. Together they enjoy traveling to visit with their children, touring the country and volunteering with their Church and social organizations.