He graduated from Basic High School, where he was an All-American football player and a state wrestling champion.

[4] He is a Council of State Governments Toll Fellow, an American Swiss Foundation Young Political Leader, a Leadership Las Vegas graduate, and an attendee of the Harvard Kennedy School.

He was elected Co-Floor Leader in 1995, during his second term in office, when the Nevada Assembly was evenly split among Democrats and Republicans with 21 members each.

[10] In 2000, Perkins introduced the Sherrice Iverson Good Samaritan Law, named after a 7 year-old girl murdered by Jeremy Strohmeyer in Primm, Nevada.

[11] Perkins’ bill requires Nevadans to notify police if they witness violent acts being committed against a child.

[5] After retiring as a legislator and chief of police, Perkins opened his own lobbying firm, counting clients such as Newmont and the city of Henderson.

[5] In 2024, Perkins joined the board of directors for the Democracy Defense Project,[29] a bipartisan group that seeks to defend the integrity of voting systems and restore faith in elections.