RENO, Nev. (AP) — The owner of a Nevada brothel who was recently elected as a county commissioner says he faced few objections during his campaign.

Lance Gilman tells The Associated Press that to many voters in Storey County his Mustang Ranch is just a business and a prosperous one at that.

The 68-year-old Gilman describes himself as a "dye-in-the-wool Republican who loves American values.

Nevada historian Guy Rocha says Gilman is the first such owner to win election to public office in Nevada since prostitution was legalized here in 1971.

Today, some two dozen brothels legally operate in 10 of Nevada's 17 counties. Prostitution is illegal in the counties that include Las Vegas and Reno, the state's population centers.