CARSON CITY – Board of Regents candidate Ron Knecht confirmed today he was let go from his state job with the Public Utilities Commission in March, saying no cause was given despite his request for an explanation.

“I can’t tell you a lot,” he said. “I’m no longer working there.”

Ron Knecht.

Knecht said he does know he was not fired for cause.

“My performance reviews were always outstanding,” he said.

Knecht, who spent more than a decade with the PUC as a senior economist, said the agency does not believe it has to give a reason because he was an at-will employee.

The agency today would say only that (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Board of Regents candidate Ron Knecht confirmed today he was let go from his state job with the Public Utilities Commission in March, saying no cause was given despite his request for an explanation.

“I can’t tell you a lot,” he said. “I’m no longer working there.”

Ron Knecht.

Knecht said he does know he was not fired for cause.

“My performance reviews were always outstanding,” he said.

Knecht, who spent more than a decade with the PUC as a senior economist, said the agency does not believe it has to give a reason because he was an at-will employee.

The agency today would say only that Knecht no longer works there.

“They believe they don’t need to give a reason when they terminated someone,” Knecht said. “So there’s not a lot I can tell you because I wasn’t given any reason. I wasn’t given proper notice. I was told I was being terminated on March 23, effective March 27.”

Knecht said his request for a reason for his dismissal has not been responded to by the agency.

Knecht said he is looking both for another position and work as a consultant, and that the development will not affect his race for another six-year term on the Board of Regents overseeing the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Knecht is the second state elected official to leave the PUC in the past several months.

State Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, left his job with the agency in November 2011, just as he was named in a lawsuit alleging a violation of the state constitution’s separation of power clause prohibiting government employees from serving in the Legislature.

Denis said he chose to leave his position as a computer technician to take a job in the private sector and that his decision had nothing to do with the lawsuit.

The Nevada Policy Research Institute’s Center for Justice and Constitutional Litigation filed the lawsuit against the PUC alleging Denis’ position violated the separation of powers clause. The case was dismissed as moot after Denis left the agency, but that decision in on appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Knecht said his termination came shortly after he filed for another term on the Board of Regents on March 12. He had submitted paperwork to agency officials informing them of his intention to run for the nonpartisan post, which was accepted.

CARSON CITY – With education reform a top priority of Gov. Brian Sandoval, the new alignment of the state Board of Education – with four seats up for grabs on the November ballot – is taking on more importance than ever before.

One of the four seats, District 2 which mirrors the new Nevada 2nd Congressional District from Reno and Carson City east across rural Nevada, has attracted five candidates, two of whom are serving now on the 10-member elected board. The race is nonpartisan.

Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Association; Scott Carey, a planner for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Donna Clontz, (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – With education reform a top priority of Gov. Brian Sandoval, the new alignment of the state Board of Education – with four seats up for grabs on the November ballot – is taking on more importance than ever before.

One of the four seats, District 2 which mirrors the new Nevada 2^nd Congressional District from Reno and Carson City east across rural Nevada, has attracted five candidates, two of whom are serving now on the 10-member elected board. The race is nonpartisan.

Ray Bacon, executive director of the Nevada Manufacturers Association; Scott Carey, a planner for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Donna Clontz, a retired teacher and juvenile justice expert; Dave Cook, a member of the board and charter school math teacher; and Adriana Guzman Fralick, a member of the board and attorney with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are all on the June 12 primary ballot.

The top two vote getters will move on to the general election in November.

Since taking office in 2011, Sandoval has made education reform a priority of his administration. A number of reforms, including reconstituting the state board, were approved in the 2011 legislative session.

Photo courtesy of FEMA via Wikimedia Commons.

He also recently appointed a new superintendent of public instruction, James Guthrie, who formerly served as the senior fellow and director of education policy studies at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas.

Sandoval plans in 2013 to pursue a number of additional reforms, including ending social promotion and fostering school choice through charter school expansion and some form of voucher program that is still in development.

The new board will play an expanded role in the reform effort. In addition to four elected candidates, Sandoval will appoint three members, one of his choice and one each nominated by the Senate majority leader and Assembly speaker. There will also be four nonvoting members.

Ray Bacon brings an employer perspective to race

Bacon, who has advocated for education reform for more than 25 years, said he entered the race as a candidate coming from the perspective of the business sector.

“There are two primary focuses in the education picture,” he said. “They (are) the students, which should be first and foremost No.1, and then the second constituency is employers, which are routinely ignored by the education system.”

Employers need a voice on the board, Bacon said.

The key is not job oriented education, but providing students with a strong set of basic skills in writing, reading, math and science, he said. The reality is there will be job opportunities in the future that aren’t even on the radar yet, Bacon said.

“If their basic skills are really solid, and really foundational, and they pay attention, they have the skill set to move into those jobs,” Bacon said. “If they’re lacking in those basics, they can’t make the transition.”

The reforms passed in the last session were a major step forward, but more remains to be done, he said.

Bacon said he has concerns with the use of binding arbitration in school district negotiations with teachers and other employees. A recent arbitration decision in Clark County in favor of teachers could lead to hundreds of teacher layoffs. The arbitrators always seem to be from out of state and lack the knowledge of Nevada’s public education funding scheme, he said. Arbitrators should come from Nevada, he said.

There should also be a requirement that teacher contracts comply with state law, Bacon said. The Clark County layoffs will be based on who was last hired, which conflicts with legislation passed in 2011 making seniority not the only basis for such decisions, he said.

As to school choice, Bacon said he would start with students in under-performing schools, giving them an edge to enroll elsewhere, including charter schools.

Scott Carey says an educated workforce is critical to economic diversification

Carey, who grew up in Sparks and took advantage of the Gov. Kenny Guinn Millennium Scholarship, said he wants to focus on improving public education as a way to help with Nevada’s economic diversification efforts

“I see kind of the biggest thing holding back our state to diversifying our economy is education,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to get jobs to relocate here and open up new operations if our schools continue to be in the condition that they are and our graduation rate remains the way it is.”

Nevada needs a skilled workforce to drive innovation and expand the economy, Carey said.

The new board will play a big role in education reform, he said. The state’s last in the nation graduation rate is unacceptable, he said.

“And I’m willing to look at new ideas that can help improve that graduation rate,” Carey said. “I think a lot of the partisan politics that sometimes get played in Carson City do more harm than they do good. If elected to the Board of Education I would take a look at solutions from both sides of the aisle and see what we can do to help improve education.”

Carey said he supports expanded school choice, including the potential use of vouchers, as long as they don’t take financial resources away from what he said are already “vastly underfunded” public schools.

Donna Clontz says she wants to bring her experiences with childhood issues to bear at the state board

“I decided to run for the State Board of Education because I see it in a very important leadership role for policy for all of our 17 school districts and I don’t believe it really has filled that role in the past,” Clontz said.

The board can and should serve in an outspoken leadership role on behalf of all students to make education and quality schools the state’s number one priority, she said.

Clontz started her career as an elementary school teacher, then went to night law school to become an attorney. She then went to work as a prosecutor in the California juvenile justice system. Her next career was on the staff of the National School Safety Center, getting an education on school safety issues, from bullying to weapons, all of which are still issues today.

Those experiences make her well qualified to serve on the board, she said.

“Everybody who plays a role, I think, could be engaged in a strategic planning process where we would all work together to get that change of attitude that I think it’s going to take in Nevada for all of us to say that schools are the most important thing that we can work on to bring our state back, our economy back, to create the jobs we need, to have young people that are trained and ready to go to work in those jobs,” Clontz said. “We’re perched on the edge of some great things.”

She supports ending social promotion for elementary school students and the development of quality charter schools but opposes vouchers. Vouchers have been tried elsewhere without success and Nevada has too many other education issues to address, Clontz said.

Dave Cook says he will pursue Gov. Sandoval’s reforms if returned to the board

Cook said one of the keys to improving education is to use effective testing to measure progress.

“We need to effectively assess students,” he said. “At the same time, we need to do less testing overall. So we need to do testing that is going to be beneficial for making decisions about students.”

Assessing students at the beginning and end of the school year helps prevent a number of problems and can help determine if a student should be promoted, Cook said.

“And most of our problems happen because language and mathematics aren’t being effectively handled in the elementary grades,” he said. “By the time we discover them in middle school, the damage is already done.”

Such testing also provides the opportunity to measure teacher performance because it assesses how far each student has come during the year, Cook said.

Cook, who previously served on the Carson City School Board before being elected to the state Board of Education, said he is a big supporter of quality charter schools. Between 2008 and now, the attitude toward charter schools has improved dramatically and the schools are playing a big role in education reform, he said.

Cook said he supports the concept of vouchers as well, although full implementation might require an incremental approach. Any voucher program would have to carry an accountability element with it to ensure tax dollars are being spent efficiently, he said.

Cook said being a licensed math teacher gives him an added dimension to serve on the board.

Adriana Fralick says her time on the board gives her the background to move forward on reforms  

Fralick said she is on board with the education reforms already achieved by Sandoval and his plans going forward.

“I believe in charter schools and I think now with the new (Charter School) authority I think there is a chance of expanding that and streamlining it so I think that is going to be something very positive,” she said.

She also supports vouchers, saying parents should be able to choose their child’s school.

“Implementing a fair state-based voucher system will give parents and students a vested interest in the child’s education and stimulate parental involvement – an important factor in student success,” she said on her website.

Fralick said she is concerned about the potential for changes to the Nevada Plan, which outlines how public schools are funded in Nevada. A legislative panel is now reviewing the state’s public education funding plan at the request of the Clark County School District.

Fralick was appointed to the board in November 2010 by then-Gov. Jim Gibbons to fill out the term of Ken McKenna, who resigned. During the past 18 months, Fralick said she was on a learning curve. Now that she has the background, it is time to move forward with policies to improve Nevada’s education system.

“I’ve been on the board, not too long, but long enough to where I see what needs changing or what works,” Fralick said. “So I think that is one of my strengths, I can hit the ground running.”

Another strength Fralick said is her work as a public agency attorney for many years. Regulations sometimes have unintended consequences, so a legal background can help to prevent such occurrences, she said.

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Audio clips

Ray Bacon says employers have been ignored by the education system:

052512Bacon1 :16 the education system.”

Bacon says students need to master the fundamentals:

052512Bacon2 :18 make the transition.”

Scott Carey says a quality educational system is key to economic diversification:

052512Carey1 :22 way it is.”

Carey says he will work with all policy makers to improve the public education system:

052512Carey2 :25 help improve education.”

Donna Clontz says the board can play a major role in education reform:

052512Clontz1 :15 in the past.”

Clontz says Nevada has to focus on a quality public education system:

052512Clontz2 :33 in those jobs.”

Dave Cook says effective testing is needed to measure education reform efforts:

052512Cook1 :29 not be promoted.”

Cook says students need a strong foundation in the early elementary grades to succeed:

052512Cook2 :17 is already done.”

Adriana Fralick says she supports charter school expansion:

052512Fralick1 :14 something very positive.”

Fralick says she can hit the ground running if elected to the board:

052512Fralick2 :15 the ground running.”

CARSON CITY – Long-time Republican political consultant Sig Rogich said today the 2013 Nevada Legislature has to take a serious look at collective bargaining reforms so that situations like the impending layoff of hundreds of Clark County teachers can be avoided in the future.

“I think we’ve got to look at collective bargaining in a real way in this legislative session,” he said. “We’ve got to stop some of these nonsensical things that are going on. You can’t tell me that it’s good government or good policy to lay off 1,200 teachers down here when you’ve got to stop a pay increase to do so.

Sig (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Long-time Republican political consultant Sig Rogich said today the 2013 Nevada Legislature has to take a serious look at collective bargaining reforms so that situations like the impending layoff of hundreds of Clark County teachers can be avoided in the future.

“I think we’ve got to look at collective bargaining in a real way in this legislative session,” he said. “We’ve got to stop some of these nonsensical things that are going on. You can’t tell me that it’s good government or good policy to lay off 1,200 teachers down here when you’ve got to stop a pay increase to do so.

Sig Rogich.

Rogich, interviewed on the Nevada NewsMakers television program, was referring to the layoffs anticipated in the Clark County School District as a result of a binding arbitration decision requiring the district to provide pay raises to teachers.

The school district lost an arbitration battle worth $63 million over teacher salary increases for education level and longevity. The district says the decision will force as many as 1,000 teacher layoffs  unless money can be found to reduce the number.

Rogich said he believes there is a disconnect between the teachers union and teachers themselves.

Rogich, who was involved in the campaigns of Ronald Reagan and both Bush presidents, also weighed in on the national and Nevada political scenes.

Of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Rogich said his campaign needs to do more to tell voters how he would run the presidency differently from President Obama in order to attract independent voters in November.

The average voter might describe Romney as a Mormon, a successful businessman, governor of Massachusetts or mention his work on the Salt Lake City Olympics, he said.

“To get independent voters to look at him seriously they are going to have to offer reasonable alternatives and differences between the way he would run the presidency as president and what President Obama is doing,” Rogich said.

Romney will do well in Nevada with a strong turnout expected from the Mormon community on his behalf, he said.

“I think that it’s going to be very competitive in Nevada,” Rogich said.

He also expressed no objections to the amount of third party money in the presidential campaign.

“Why shouldn’t people be overwhelmed by TV commercials that have messages that are important for them to know about,” Rogich asked. “What does it harm as long as you disclose it fully and you play by the rules?”

On the race between U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., for the Senate seat, Rogich said it is a tight race but that it is Heller’s to lose because Romney should run strong in Nevada.

Rogich was also asked about the state Senate race between Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, and former state Sen. Sheila Leslie, a Democrat, in Washoe County. The Senate 15 race is one of five in Nevada expected to determine which party controls the Senate in 2013.

Rogich said Leslie has to be the favorite, given her long track record of successful campaigns.

But Brower is extremely capable and cannot be counted out, he said.

-

Audio clips:

GOP political consultant Sig Rogich says the Nevada Legislature needs to take up collective bargaining reform:

052412Rogich11 :09 to do so.”

Rogich says the Romney campaign needs to differentiate his positions with President Obama:

052412Rogich2 :11 Obama is doing.”

Rogich says he has no problem with the influence of third party political advertising:

052412Rogich3 :11 by the rules.”

CARSON CITY – Political Action Committees formed by state lawmakers to help their candidates win seats in the Legislature are off to a slow start in fundraising, according to campaign finance reports filed this week with Secretary of State’s office.

Many of the lawmaker-created PACs reported no contributions in the first campaign contribution and expense report filed Tuesday and reflecting financial activity from Jan. 1 through May 18 of 2012.

More lawmakers are forming their own PACs in an effort to both help their party’s candidates and to wield more influence.

Graphic courtesy of KRNV.

The “A Brighter Nevada” PAC formed by state Sen. Joe Hardy, (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Political Action Committees formed by state lawmakers to help their candidates win seats in the Legislature are off to a slow start in fundraising, according to campaign finance reports filed this week with Secretary of State’s office.

Many of the lawmaker-created PACs reported no contributions in the first campaign contribution and expense report filed Tuesday and reflecting financial activity from Jan. 1 through May 18 of 2012.

More lawmakers are forming their own PACs in an effort to both help their party’s candidates and to wield more influence.

Graphic courtesy of KRNV.

The “A Brighter Nevada” PAC formed by state Sen. Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, received only $1,000, according to its filing. The “Battle Born Leadership Group” PAC formed by Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, reported no contributions.

But a few of the committees did report some more significant contributions.

The Assembly Republican Caucus brought in $95,000, including $10,000 from the Keystone Corp., and spent $70,000, including a $5,000 contribution to the Committee to Elect Wes Duncan. Duncan is running for the Assembly District 37 seat in Las Vegas now held by Assembly Majority Leader Marcus Conklin.

Conklin’s Nevada First PAC reported no contributions.

The Senate Majority PAC formed by Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, brought in $34,500, including $5,000 from Station Casinos. It also contributed $10,000 each to GOP Senate candidates Mari Nakashima St. Martin and Mark Hutchison. The PAC also took in $160,000 in 2011.

The Majority 2012 PAC formed by Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, reported $7,500 in contributions in 2012. It also took in $15,000 in 2011. It contributed $5,000 to each of four Senate Democrat candidates: Sheila Leslie, Joyce Woodhouse, Justin Jones and Benny Yerushalmi.

The two main Senate caucus reports showed bigger numbers in the first report of 2012, with Democrats out-raising Republicans $187,000 to $149,000.

The Nevada Democratic Party also won the fundraising race in the first 2012 report over the Republican Party. The Democratic Party took in $465,000, while the Republican Party brought in only $75,000 in contributions.

All of these numbers will change after the primary as the parties and caucuses gear up for the November general election.

CARSON CITY – Republican candidates have big leads in fundraising in four of five seats considered critical to control of the state Senate in the 2013 legislative session, with a slight monetary advantage in the fifth, according to campaign contribution reports filed this week.

Both Democrat and Republican caucus leaders are fighting hard to win the seats to control the 21-member house where Democrats now lead 11-10.

The first reports of 2012 show contributions through May 18 and were filed Tuesday with the state Secretary of State’s office. Several candidates also raised money in 2011 and these amounts have given the GOP candidates the funding edge early on in the (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Republican candidates have big leads in fundraising in four of five seats considered critical to control of the state Senate in the 2013 legislative session, with a slight monetary advantage in the fifth, according to campaign contribution reports filed this week.

Both Democrat and Republican caucus leaders are fighting hard to win the seats to control the 21-member house where Democrats now lead 11-10.

The first reports of 2012 show contributions through May 18 and were filed Tuesday with the state Secretary of State’s office. Several candidates also raised money in 2011 and these amounts have given the GOP candidates the funding edge early on in the 2012 election season.

Republican caucus leader Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, is optimistic that the GOP can retake control of the Senate in the November general election. Republicans need to win four of the five seats to do so.

Democratic Senate leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, is equally confident Democrats will maintain control.

Roberson said he is pleased with where the Senate candidates are right now, but added that it is a long time until November. Roberson also said he is pleased but not surprised at the level of contributions to the candidates and the caucus.

“I know the caliber of the candidates we have,” he said. “The group of candidates that agreed to run this time on the Republican side, our endorsed candidates, are some of the best candidates either party has seen in 20 years.”

But Senate Democrats point out that two of their candidates, Justin Jones and Sheila Leslie, both had larger numbers of individuals contributing to their campaigns than their GOP counterparts in the 2012 reports, suggesting they have a broader base of support. A third candidate, Joyce Woodhouse, also out-raised her opponent in the 2012 report.

The Senate Democratic Caucus also out-raised its Republican counterpart so far in 2012, $187,000 to $149,000.

“The recent finance reports show that the Senate Democratic Caucus is a very strong position to expand and protect the majority,” said Mike Luce, executive director of the Nevada Senate Democrats. “We have very strong candidates and the registration in these new districts favors Democrats.

“We have been  saying all along that the Democratic candidates are running strong campaigns and talking about bringing jobs to this state,” he said. “Our message is working, our campaigns are knocking doors and raising the necessary funds to run competitive races.”

In Senate District 5, where former Henderson city councilman Steve Kirk, a Republican, is expected to face Woodhouse, a former state senator, in the November general election, the GOP has the edge in contributions so far. But Kirk has also spent much of his war chest already.

Kirk reports $131,000 in total contributions and expenses of $67,000. Kirk has a primary battle. Kirk received a $5,000 contribution from the Retail Association of Nevada in the first reporting period this year.

Woodhouse reports raising about $96,000 and spending $18,000. She has large contributions from the Nevada State Education Association, $5,000; outgoing state Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, $5,000; and Nevada Senate Democrats, $5,000; in the first reporting period for this year.

The other Republican in the Senate 5 race, Annette Teijeiro, reports about $28,000 in contributions and $15,000 in expenses. The primary is June 12.

Author: David Ball, via Wikimedia Commons.

In Senate District 6, where GOP attorney Mark Hutchison is expected to face businessman and Democrat Benny Yerushalmi, Republicans also have a fundraising advantage.

Hutchison reports $185,000 in contributions and nearly $48,000 expenses. Contributions include $5,000 from the Keystone Corp., $5,000 from the Retail Association of Nevada and $10,000 from the Senate Republican Leadership Conference.

Yerushalmi reports $74,000 in contributions and $10,000 in expenses. He has a primary against Thomas Welsh. Yerushalmi, who ran unsuccessfully for a state Senate seat in 2010, has $4,000 contributions from both the Nevada State Education Association and the Clark County Education Association.

In Senate District 9, where Republican Mari Nakashima St. Martin is expected to face Democrat Justin Jones, the candidates are fairly evenly matched. Both face primary opponents. Brent Jones is also a GOP candidate, and Frederick Conquest has filed as a Democrat.

St. Martin reports nearly $114,000 in contributions and $60,000 in expenses. Contributions include $10,000 from the Senate Majority Political Action Committee, $10,000 from the Jobs First PAC, and $10,000 from the Senate Republican Leadership Conference.

Justin Jones reports nearly $112,000 in contributions and $23,000 in expenses. Contributions include $2,500 from U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s Searchlight Leadership Fund.

GOP candidate Brent Jones has raised nearly $33,000 in contributions.

In the Senate 15 race where incumbent Greg Brower, R-Reno, will face Leslie, who resigned her Senate 13 seat to challenge the attorney who was appointed to fill out the term of the late Sen. Bill Raggio, the Republican is leading in the fund-raising race.

Brower reports $299,000 in contributions and $76,000 in expenditures, with a $7,279 donation from the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Leslie reports $141,000 in total contributions and $58,000 in expenses. Her contributions include $2,000 from R&R Partners, $5,000 from the Laborers’ Intl Local 169, and $8,700 from the Barbara Buckley Campaign. Buckley is a former Assembly speaker.

In Senate District 18, where Assemblyman Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, is likely to face Democrat Kelli Ross in November, Hammond reports $127,000 in contributions and $70,000 in expenses. Contributions include $2,500 from Station Casinos and $5,000 from MGM Resorts International.

Hammond raised $59,000 in the first 2012 reporting period from Jan. 1 through May 18. He also raised $68,000 in 2011.

Hammond, who is endorsed by the GOP Senate Caucus, and who faces a primary challenge from Assemblyman Richard McArthur, R-Las Vegas, is well ahead in contributions. McArthur reports about $16,000 in total donations. Republican Conrad Vergara, has also filed.

Ross, who has a primary against Democrat Donna Schlemmer, reports $47,000 in contributions and $5,500 in expenses. She received $10,000 from the Committee to Elect Steve Ross and $5,000 from the Committee to Elect Tom Collins.

Schlemmer has raised about $7,000.

Democrats have a voter registration edge in three Clark County races: Senate 5 by 40.6 percent to 37.5 percent for Republicans; in Senate 6 by 41.4 percent to 38.2 percent; and in Senate 9 by 39.6 percent to 35.3 percent, based on registration numbers through April.

Republicans lead in Senate 15 in Washoe County, 40 percent to 38 percent, and in Senate District 18 in Clark County, 40.7 percent to 37.6 percent.

-

Audio clips:

Sen. Michael Roberson says he is pleased with where the Senate candidates are but that it is a long time yet to November:

052312Roberson1 :14 sure we’re successful.”

Roberson says the GOP Senate candidates are some of the best in the past 20 years:

052312Roberson2 :20 in 20 years.”

CARSON CITY – Sixty state lawmakers and legislative candidates who responded to a survey on government transparency largely favor new laws requiring the Legislature to follow the Open Meeting Law and mandating expanded reporting of spending on legislators by lobbyists.

The survey, sponsored by the Nevada Policy Research Institute and the Nevada Press Association, also saw broad support for imposing a 72-hour time frame so the public can read bills before they go to a floor vote, subjecting local government negotiations with public employee unions to the state Open Meeting Law and assessing penalties for government officials who violate Nevada’s public records laws.

CARSON CITY – A proposal by Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, to move Nevada’s primary election back to September to shorten the campaign season didn’t get out of the starting gate in 2011.

The Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee held one hearing on Assembly Bill 157, which had cosponsors from both major political parties. But it also saw serious opposition from state election officials and never came up for a vote.

Photo by Guroadrunner via Wikimedia Commons.

Even so, Hickey said he would like to again pursue the idea of moving the primary closer to the November general election in the 2013 legislative session. The Assembly GOP (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – A proposal by Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, to move Nevada’s primary election back to September to shorten the campaign season didn’t get out of the starting gate in 2011.

The Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee held one hearing on Assembly Bill 157, which had cosponsors from both major political parties. But it also saw serious opposition from state election officials and never came up for a vote.

Photo by Guroadrunner via Wikimedia Commons.

Even so, Hickey said he would like to again pursue the idea of moving the primary closer to the November general election in the 2013 legislative session. The Assembly GOP caucus leader announced his intentions Monday while discussing proposed reforms to the campaign finance and lobbying reporting laws. Hickey said he is not set on a particular date for the primary.

But the election season goes on too long with the June primary and voters lose interest, he said.

“In shortening the length of the campaign season we might actually create an electorate that is actively engaged rather than being turned off and tuned out by the time November rolls around,” Hickey said.

It would also reduce the amount of time Democratic and Republican candidates would have to campaign against each other, Hickey said.

“By doing so we might even make progress in restoring a measure of civility to campaigning or at the very least, shorten the period we make enemies of each other in the dog days of summer before we arrive in Carson City before the cold days of winter needing to make peace with each other,” he said.

The late Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, was an advocate for moving the primary back to September.

But several Nevada election officials opposed the change in the 2011 hearing, arguing a September primary is too close to the November general election to ensure ballots can be prepared and delivered to voters, especially overseas military personnel.

In 2005 the Legislature changed the primary from September to August to accommodate the time concerns of election officials. August primaries were held in 2006 and 2008.

But Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said at the 2011 hearing that the August date proved imperfect because of the heat of the summer in Las Vegas for those campaigning and because of concerns that many potential voters were on vacation.

The Legislature changed the date again in 2009 to the second Tuesday in June, which was used in the 2010 election season. The primary this year is June 12.

The Secretary of State’s office also opposed the change back to September during the 2011 hearing, citing the same concern about the U.S. Department of Justice requirement for mailing out overseas ballots.

Lomax said today that a September primary is not doable because of the need to comply with the federal regulations for overseas ballots. The August primary was not popular either because of the heat and concerns about participation by voters, he said.

“I understand what they say about the additional campaigning . . . but early voting starts here next week and there is nothing going on but signs posted around,” Lomax said. “So I don’t know how much that turns off the voters.”

The only significant television or radio advertising on the air in Southern Nevada is not local but is related to the presidential race, he said.

The second Tuesday in June has proved to be a good date for a variety of reasons, and Lomax said it should be left alone.

Hickey acknowledged that a bill changing the primary will face opposition from many lawmakers. There are arguments that a shorter campaign season favors incumbents, he said.

“I really do think that with 10- and 12-month campaigns every other year we take ourselves away from doing the work in the interim,” he said. “I think it does contribute to the animosity and the distance that members of both parties feel from each other with long and heated campaigns such as they are. And maybe more importantly I really do think we wear the public out and I think we turn a lot of them off.”

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Audio clips:

Assemblyman Pat Hickey says a shorter campaign season might improve relationships between the two parties:

052212Hickey1 :16 with each other.”

Hickey says a shorter campaign season could lead to an actively engaged electorate:

052212Hickey2 :32 November rolls around.”

CARSON CITY – Three of the Republicans seeking the right to challenge state Democratic Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford for Nevada’s new 4th Congressional District seat sought to establish their conservative credentials in a televised debate today.

Barbara Cegavske, in the middle of her final four-year term in the state Senate, Danny Tarkanian, who has run for elective office on several occasions including a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2010, and Dan Schwartz, a businessman and attorney fresh to the political arena, are seeking a victory in the June 12 primary to advance to the November general election.

In a televised debate on the (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Three of the Republicans seeking the right to challenge state Democratic Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford for Nevada’s new 4^th Congressional District seat sought to establish their conservative credentials in a televised debate today.

Barbara Cegavske, in the middle of her final four-year term in the state Senate, Danny Tarkanian, who has run for elective office on several occasions including a campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2010, and Dan Schwartz, a businessman and attorney fresh to the political arena, are seeking a victory in the June 12 primary to advance to the November general election.

In a televised debate on the Face To Face television program, the candidates took the opportunity to sell themselves  voters.

The debate was fairly subdued, without any real fireworks among the three candidates.

The sharpest attack came when Schwartz’s television ad was aired, which criticized Tarkanian for running repeatedly for a “taxpayer funded” job. Schwartz called himself a job creating businessman and a constitutional conservative in the spot.

Dan Schwartz.

“The question is, he’s run three times and Nevadans have said they’ve considered it, they just haven’t pulled the lever,” Schwartz said in commenting on his ad.

Cegavske said she would examine the federal budget line-by-line to find savings in an effort to achieve her campaign goal of cutting $1 trillion in federal spending in her first year in office. The U.S. Department of Education would be the place to start with the Commerce Department second, she said.

“You can go through all the agencies, and if you start looking through each one, you bring that money back to the states, give block granting, and you can cut administration,” she said.

Tarkanian offered some specifics on what he would do if elected, pointing to flaws in the Endangered Species Act and potential protections for the Sage Grouse that are stifling job growth in Nevada.

“Everywhere I go in rural Nevada, everywhere I go in the Mesquite area, they complain that if you are on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and you want to get a mine started, if you want to do anything on BLM land, it takes seven to 10 years to get it processed through the federal government,” he said.

Danny Tarkanian.

The same process takes three to five years at the state level, Tarkanian said.

“Why does it take almost twice as long in the federal government when Nevada needs jobs. We should make it easier for people to get permitted,” he said.

Tarkanian also said his proposal for tax fairness means eliminating tax loopholes and tax breaks and lowering the income tax rate for average Americans.

The three candidates agreed with Gov. Brian Sandoval that Internet purchases should be subjected to the state sales tax. Sandoval recently reached an agreement with Amazon to collect the tax on Nevada purchases. Their positions conflict, however, with U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Joe Heck, both R-Nev., who oppose the so-called Main Street Protection Act.

The three candidates agreed for the need to repeal the federal health care law, but they also argued that worthwhile elements, such as providing coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, should be continued independently.

Tarkanian said his biggest concern with the law is the cost to the state’s Medicaid program, which cannot be afforded. The health care system can be strengthened by allowing health insurance to be purchased across state lines and by providing for the portability of health insurance plans, he said.

Cegavske said the law has to be repealed in its entirety as the first step.

Barbara Cegavske.

“And anything that is salvageable or people think is good then you can bring those issues back,” she said. “We don’t have the money to pay for Obamacare.”

Schwartz said repeal is necessary although there are some elements worth preserving such as letting children stay on their parents insurance through age 26.

Then the real problems have to be addressed such as how hospitals are paid, he said.

“Another real problem is that we as Americans all feel entitled to health care,” Schwartz said. “And we just can’t continue with a system that just says you can get whatever you want.”

Tarkanian is leading in the fundraising race for the primary, while long-time state lawmaker Cegavske has been endorsed by Nevada’s two GOP Congressional representatives: Mark Amodei and Joe Heck. Cegavske served with both men in the state Senate.

The Republican candidate faces a challenge in the district, however, newly created as a result of the 2010 census. The district, which includes parts of urban Clark County and much of central rural Nevada, has a Democratic voter edge.

Through April, there were 111,978 active Democrats registered in the district, compared to 89,182 Republicans, for a 44 percent to 35.1 percent for Republicans. There are also 39,273 nonpartisan voters.

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Audio clips:

Sen. Barbara Cegavske says federal spending can be slashed using block grants:

052112Cegavske1 :18 cut his budget.”

Cegavske says Nevada cannot afford the federal health care law:

052112Cegavske2 :12 pay for Obamacare.”

Candidate Dan Schwartz says Danny Tarkanian has failed to win the support of Nevada voters in past campaigns:

052112Schwartz1 :05 pulled the lever.”

Schwartz says federal health care costs must be curtailed:

052112Schwartz2 :27 whatever you want.”

Candidate Danny Tarkanian says federal permitting rules need to be streamlined:

052112Tarkanian1 :24 to get permitted.”

Tarkanian says the federal health care law will bankrupt the state:

052112Tarkanian2 :16 health care system.”

CARSON CITY – The leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus today used a Tuesday reporting deadline for candidates running for election this year to announce several proposals to require more accountability and transparency in the financing of campaigns in Nevada.

“In order to help reduce the influence of money in Silver State politics and to empower the public with real-time information about campaign expenditures and contributions, I would propose to my fellow state lawmakers, as well as to Gov. Brian Sandoval, Secretary of State Ross Miller and other state officials, that we begin the 2013 Legislature with a serious commitment to put our Nevada election campaign house in order,” said Assemblyman (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – The leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus today used a Tuesday reporting deadline for candidates running for election this year to announce several proposals to require more accountability and transparency in the financing of campaigns in Nevada.

“In order to help reduce the influence of money in Silver State politics and to empower the public with real-time information about campaign expenditures and contributions, I would propose to my fellow state lawmakers, as well as to Gov. Brian Sandoval, Secretary of State Ross Miller and other state officials, that we begin the 2013 Legislature with a serious commitment to put our Nevada election campaign house in order,” said Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno.

Among the proposals presented today at a press briefing at the state Capitol: more “real time” reporting of campaign contributions, particularly in the periods leading up to the primary and general elections; reporting of gifts, including travel, by lawmakers in-between legislative sessions; enhancing auditing capabilities to ensure compliance with campaign finance laws; and establishing a cooling off period before retired lawmakers can return to lobby the Legislature. Another proposal would require ending fund balance reports showing how much money incumbents have on hand after an election.

Assemblyman Pat Hickey discusses his campaign finance reform proposals today with Assembly candidate David Espinosa, right, and Assemblyman Randy Kirner. Photo: Nevada News Bureau.

“With so many outstanding individuals serving in the Nevada Legislature, I’m asking members of both parties to lead the way in establishing higher standards of public transparency and accountability,” he said.

Hickey was joined by Assemblyman Randy Kirner, R-Reno, and Republican Assembly candidate David Espinosa, in calling for the Legislature to take up campaign finance reform as a priority in the 2013 session. A similar event was also scheduled for Las Vegas later today.

The proposals were first reported by Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston on Sunday.

Hickey acknowledged that some progress was made in campaign finance reporting reforms in the 2011 session.

Bills sought by Miller now require electronic filing of campaign contribution and expense reports, and they will be filed Tuesday, well before the June 12 primary. The reports will be required to be updated before primary election day as well. The filings are also now more easily searched by the public.

But other efforts to make reforms, such as requiring the disclosure of trips paid for by lobbyists for lawmakers for “fact-finding” missions to such locations as London and the Bahamas, failed to see approval in the Democrat-controlled Assembly, Hickey said.

The trips cited by Hickey were paid for by PokerStars, a company that sought online gaming legislation in 2011. Three Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Steven Horsford and Assemblymen William Horne and Kelvin Atkinson, went on the trips. Founders of the company were later indicted by a federal grand jury for illegal gambling, among other charges.

There was also an effort by some Nevada lawmakers to require a two-year cooling off period from lobbying by former public officials, including lawmakers, but the provision was stripped from a campaign finance reform measure.

Kirner said Nevada ranked low in a national report released in March looking at state government transparency and accountability, making Nevada a high risk state for potential corruption. The ideas presented today should get bipartisan support, he said.

“And so these proposals, these new measures, I think, bring a sense of openness to the relationship between lobbyists and the Legislature, and presents a greater sense of accountability, which I think is in the interest of our citizens,” Kirner said.

Former state lawmaker and current lobbyist Jim Spinello, who works for R&R Partners, said anything the Legislature can do to increase transparency would be a positive development. Spinello, who served in the Assembly in from 1987 to 1990, said he tried to deal with the ending fund balances of candidates during his tenure without success.

“People have a right to know and should know how their elected officials are being influenced,” he said. “Anyone who says campaign contributions are not a form of influence would be kidding themselves.”

The technology available today makes such proposals as more frequent reporting of campaign contributions easily accomplished, Spinello said.

But campaign contribution limits to political parties and PACs could be more difficult with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizen United case, he said. The state of Montana is asking the court to reconsider aspects of its ruling, and 22 states, including Nevada, have joined in the request.

Geoffrey Lawrence with the Nevada Policy Research Institute, in a commentary published today, said increased lobbying and campaign finance transparency are badly needed.

The bill sponsored by then-Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, in 2011 that would have required lobbyists to report all spending on lawmakers, not just spending during a legislative session, passed the Senate but died in an Assembly committee without a vote, he said. It would have required reporting of trips like those paid for by PokerStars.

“Given the very recent history of apparent corruption in the legislative process, it’s imperative that lobbyist and campaign-finance reform be enacted to ensure greater transparency. SB 206 would have been a solid first step in that direction,” Lawrence said.

Hickey said he has briefed the Sandoval administration and Miller on his proposals, which he too said should receive bipartisan support. He has not yet discussed the ideas with Democratic lawmakers.

Sandoval said in a statement: “Increased transparency in government is good for the political process and should legislation be proposed, I look forward to working with the Legislature on meaningful reform.”

Hickey said other campaign-related ideas he would like to see discussed include moving the primary from June to a date closer to the November general election to reduce the length of the campaign season, and imposing limits on donations to candidates, political action committees and political parties.

“In shortening the length of the campaign season we might actually create an electorate that is actively engaged rather than being turned off and tuned out by the time November rolls around,” he said.

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Audio clips:

Assemblyman Pat Hickey is calling on lawmakers to make campaign finance reform a priority in 2013:

052112Hickey1 :12 transparency and accountability.”

Hickey says a shorter campaign season might make for a more involved electorate:

052112Hickey2 :12 November rolls around.”

Assemblyman Randy Kirner says a recent study ranked Nevada low on transparency and accountability:

Kirner :22 of our citizens.”

CARSON CITY – Nevada’s jobless rate dropped below 12 percent for the first time in nearly three years in April, a state agency reported today. The statewide seasonally adjusted rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 11.7 percent.

It was the eight consecutive month of declines, and brings the state jobless rate down from a peak of 14 percent reached in October 2010. The number of unemployed Nevadans has fallen from 193,600 to 158,600 over the period, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) reported.

“Nevada has recorded year-over-year private sector job gains every month since early 2011, a clear sign that we are slowly but (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Nevada’s jobless rate dropped below 12 percent for the first time in nearly three years in April, a state agency reported today. The statewide seasonally adjusted rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 11.7 percent.

It was the eight consecutive month of declines, and brings the state jobless rate down from a peak of 14 percent reached in October 2010. The number of unemployed Nevadans has fallen from 193,600 to 158,600 over the period, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) reported.

“Nevada has recorded year-over-year private sector job gains every month since early 2011, a clear sign that we are slowly but steadily working our way toward a stronger economy,” said Gov. Brian Sandoval. “We will continue to push for job growth in our economy, especially in key economic sectors to ensure the unemployment rate continues to decline.”

New job growth in Nevada is being driven by the private sector, which has added employment in every month since January 2011. So far this year, private sector job levels are trending about 13,800 higher than a year ago. That is on top of approximately 12,000 new jobs added in 2011. Those improvements are being partially offset by declines in the public sector, which has lost 6,400 jobs since January 2011.

Mining employment hit 16,000 jobs in April, setting a new peak dating back more than 20 years.

Courtesy of Barrick Mining Corp.

The unemployment rate in each of the state’s three metropolitan areas fell below 12 percent and reached levels not seen in nearly three years. In the Las Vegas region, the unemployment rate fell to 11.6 percent in April, down from 12 percent in March. The unemployment rate in the Reno-Sparks area fell by six-tenths to 11.4 percent in April.

In the capital region, the unemployment rate fell six-tenths to 11.8 percent in April, down from 12.4 percent in March. In the Elko micropolitan area (Elko and Eureka counties), the unemployment rate declined three-tenths to 6.3 percent. The rate is 5.2 percentage points lower than the statewide average and 1.4 points lower than the national average of 7.7 percent.

The local rates are not seasonally adjusted.

“Much has been made of late about the underlying reasons behind the downtrend in the unemployment rate,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for DETR. “While job growth has been positive of late, contributing to the drop in the jobless rate, there are some structural forces at play, as well. Specifically, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) has been trending down both at the state and national level for many years.”

At the beginning of the recession, about 66 percent of the U.S. population was in the labor force (either employed or unemployed). As of April, the LFPR was just 63.6 percent, suggesting individuals (presumably without a job) are dropping out of the labor force and are not counted amongst the unemployed.

In Nevada, the labor force participation rate has been trending down since the early 1980’s, after reaching a peak of 73.7 percent. The current LFPR stands at 64.9 percent, down from 67.8 since the start of the recession. While recent declines in the LFPR can be attributed to a poor job market, longer term trends point to changes in the structure of the economy and demographics of the population.

Results were mixed for Nevada’s major industry sectors. Mining employment rose by 100 in April and set a new series peak dating back to 1990. The trade, transportation and utilities sector added 2,900 jobs, with a strong showing from retail trade (+1,600), transportation/warehousing/utilities (+1,100); and an increase of 200 jobs in wholesale trade.

“On the down side, a number of industries shed employment in April,” Anderson said. “Construction (-900) continued to trend down, setting a new post-boom low.”

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Audio clips:

DETR economist Bill Anderson says the April report shows stable and steady improvement:

051812Anderson1 :23 a year ago.”

Anderson says mining activity has led to low jobless rates in much of rural Nevada:

051812Anderson2 :27 of the state.”

CARSON CITY – Two Republican members of the Assembly who both want to move into the Senate in District 18 faced off today in a televised debate that focused primarily on a controversial 2011 tax vote.

Two-term lawmaker Richard McArthur and freshman Scott Hammond emphasized their divergent positions on the tax vote during the match-up on the Face To Face television program.

McArthur emphasized his conservative credentials, noting he was one of the few Republican members of the Assembly who in 2011 voted against a measure to extend a set of expiring taxes into the current budget to balance state spending plan. He received (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Two Republican members of the Assembly who both want to move into the Senate in District 18 faced off today in a televised debate that focused primarily on a controversial 2011 tax vote.

Two-term lawmaker Richard McArthur and freshman Scott Hammond emphasized their divergent positions on the tax vote during the match-up on the Face To Face television program.

McArthur emphasized his conservative credentials, noting he was one of the few Republican members of the Assembly who in 2011 voted against a measure to extend a set of expiring taxes into the current budget to balance state spending plan. He received the highest score in the Assembly from the American Conservative Union.

GOP Senate 18 candidate Richard McArthur.

Hammond, who is endorsed by the Senate Republican Caucus, said his vote to extend the sunsets still resulted in 70 percent of Nevada businesses paying less in modified business taxes. The sunset extension eliminated the tax on businesses that reported less than $250,000 annually in annual wages. A recorded statement from 2010 showed Hammond telling an audience that he would not raise taxes, however.

Asked about his vote, Hammond said: “In the 2011 session, what we voted to do was actually to decrease spending by $500 million and over 70 percent of the businesses in the state of Nevada are now paying less in taxes on their MBT (Modified Business Tax) than they were, or were going to. So basically when I took over office people now are spending less in taxes than when I took over.”

But McArthur said the decision to extend the sunsets, based on a Nevada Supreme Court ruling that some said called into question a number of elements of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget that relied on local tax revenues, was overstated. The ruling in the Clean Water Coalition case found that Sandoval could not take $62 million in local revenues to bolster the state budget.

The case created only a small $62 million hole in the budget and did not require the extension of the expiring taxes, McArthur said.

“The budget wasn’t in jeopardy,” he said. “There wasn’t any problem. That was $62 million. That was easily covered.”

Sandoval, a Republican, recently announced his intentions to extend the sunsets another two years to avoid any further cuts to education

The candidates also talked about what they would support to reform public education.

McArthur said the education reforms approved in the 2011 session were minimal.

McArthur said he wants to end social promotion, a practice of advancing students to the next grade regardless of their achievement. Sandoval has made this issue a top priority of his 2013 education reform plan. McArthur also supports vouchers, which would give parents tax revenues to pick a school, including religious-sponsored schools, for their children to attend.

Hammond said he supports more school choice, including an expansion of charter schools. There needs to be more competition, he said.

GOP Senate 18 candidate Scott Hammond.

The Senate 18 district in Clark County, newly created as a result of redistricting due to the 2010 census, has a Republican voter advantage, 40.7 percent to 37.6 percent as of the end of April. It is one Republicans are counting on in their effort to take the majority in the 2013 session. Democrats now have an 11-10 edge in the 21-member Senate.

In the GOP Caucus endorsement of Hammond, Sen. Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, said: “Assemblyman Hammond is exactly the kind of candidate Nevadans are looking for. He has a thorough understanding of the issues facing our state and is not afraid to tackle the tough issues. He will be a great addition to the Senate.”

Two Democrats, Kelli Ross and Donna Schlemmer, are also running in a primary for the seat.

Hammond teaches government and Spanish for the Clark County School District and political science at UNLV. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife and their three children.

McArthur is a retired FBI agent with 25 years of service. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife of 41 years.

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Audio clips:

Assemblyman Scott Hammond says his vote to extend a package of expiring taxes in 2011 did not increase taxes:

051712Hammond1 :19 I took over.”

Assemblyman Richard McArthur says the Supreme Court ruling did not create a budget hole requiring additional taxes:

051712McArthur1 :14 that $62 million.”

CARSON CITY – Richard Combs, currently an Assembly fiscal analyst and member of the LCB staff since 1994, was the unanimous choice today of a legislative panel to become the next director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

The recommendation of the Committee to Consult with the Director will now go to the Legislative Commission for action later this month.

The committee interviewed five candidates for the position today, including four current members of the Legislative Counsel Bureau staff. The fifth candidate was the assistant director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel for the state of Utah.

Lawmakers on the panel came down to two finalists (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Richard Combs, currently an Assembly fiscal analyst and member of the LCB staff since 1994, was the unanimous choice today of a legislative panel to become the next director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

The recommendation of the Committee to Consult with the Director will now go to the Legislative Commission for action later this month.

The committee interviewed five candidates for the position today, including four current members of the Legislative Counsel Bureau staff. The fifth candidate was the assistant director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel for the state of Utah.

Lawmakers on the panel came down to two finalists after the interviews: Combs and Paul Townsend, currently the legislative auditor and a member of the LCB staff since 1987.

Members of the panel discussed the need to hire a director who could be ready for the 2013 legislative session while at the same time seeking someone with leadership capabilities.

“Always in the back of our mind is next session because it is like the inevitable, right,” said Assembly Majority Leader Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas. “But there are more sessions past that too. And the next person, at least in theory, could be here for awhile. And you want somebody who can carry on the traditions, deliver all the services that LCB currently does, but is also open to change, open to new ways of accomplishing the same thing, maybe more efficient.”

Combs will succeed Lorne Malkiewich, who retired as director of the LCB in early April after serving in the position for more than 18 years. The position pays $138,000 a year.

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Audio clip:

Assemblyman Marcus Conklin says the new director should be someone who is open to change:

051512Conklin :29 maybe more efficient.”

CARSON CITY – While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning elsewhere today, Nevada Democrats and Republicans took up the battle for the presidency on their behalf.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., held a telephone conference call to talk up Romney’s credentials as a “turnaround specialist” who will get the country back on track. He also criticized Obama for failing to get spending or the national deficit under control as he promised early on in his presidency.

Mitt Romney speaks at a rally in Reno in February. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

Nevada labor officials, meanwhile, attacked Romney’s business practices while with Bain Capital, a private equity firm he (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – While Mitt Romney and Barack Obama were campaigning elsewhere today, Nevada Democrats and Republicans took up the battle for the presidency on their behalf.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., held a telephone conference call to talk up Romney’s credentials as a “turnaround specialist” who will get the country back on track. He also criticized Obama for failing to get spending or the national deficit under control as he promised early on in his presidency.

Mitt Romney speaks at a rally in Reno in February. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

Nevada labor officials, meanwhile, attacked Romney’s business practices while with Bain Capital, a private equity firm he headed that has been criticized for cutting jobs.

As the Las Vegas Sun reported today, between 2000 and 2002, Stage Stores, a clothing chain, shut down three stores in rural Nevada as part of a bankruptcy. The stores’ closures came after Bain Capital had sold off its interest in the company in 1999.

Romney’s time at Bain Capital and his jobs record is the subject of a new ad by the Obama campaign.

In a Reno press conference featuring Todd Koch, president of the Northern Nevada Central Labor Council, Romney’s economic philosophy was defined as: “CEOs and wealthy investors prosper by any means necessary – even when it means companies fail and workers get left behind.”

“No one here today is challenging Romney’s right to run his business as he saw fit,” Koch said. “However, this is about whether the lessons and values Romney drew from his time as a buyout specialist are the right lessons and values we want in our president. In deal after deal, Romney and his partners’ first priority was to make a personal profit regardless of the cost to others.”

Paul McKenzie, secretary treasurer of the Northern Nevada Building Trades Association, said: “The bottom line here is that Stage Store’s workers really lost out, and Romney and his partners did not. This was the quintessential case of two different sets of rules, and that’s not the kind of economy we want. Romney economics aren’t a prescription for a stronger economy and they aren’t a prescription for a stronger country.”

In his remarks, Heck said Obama’s recent comments on same sex marriage are an example of a campaign effort to avoid the real issue, which is the national debt.

“Unfortunately President Obama has no rationale to offer for his own reelection, and no record of achievement to run on in the area of debt and deficit. All he has is a record of broken promises,” Heck said. “As Mitt Romney said it’s still the economy, and we are not stupid.

“You probably remember that when he first was elected he pledged to cut the deficit in half, stating that if he was unsuccessful that this would be a one-term proposition,” Heck said. “Well instead, we’re on track to have the fourth, greater than a trillion dollar deficit this year, all under this president’s administration.”

Obama was actually referencing the economy when he made the one-term proposition comment in February 2009. But he also promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.

President Obama in Reno on Friday. / Nevada News Bureau file photo.

Heck said Romney’s record of accomplishments in business, creating a successful Salt Lake City Olympics and cutting spending as the governor of Massachusetts makes him one of the most qualified candidates for president in modern history.

“This country needs a turnaround specialist, and Mitt Romney’s career has been about taking things that are failing, and turning them around, and making them successful,” he said.

Romney will simplify the tax code and cut corporate tax rates to bring business and manufacturing back to the U.S., Heck said.

In response to a question, Heck addressed Romney’s time at Bain Capital and the fact that there were some job losses.

“There will be some pain and suffering in trying to turn around the economy,” he said. “And while there may have been some jobs lost during some of those reorganizations of companies that Gov. Romney brought back from the brink, the ultimate end point was that there was a creation of more jobs than jobs actually lost,” he said. “Now those jobs may have been in a different area, and certainly that is no consolation to the person who lost the job in their home town if the job was created somewhere else.”

But he pointed to Romney’s successes with the retailers Staples and Sports Authority.

Nevada lost more than 70,000 construction jobs in the current downturn, and many of those workers have left the state and are not likely to return, Heck said.

“And that’s part of the process in trying to turn around the economy,” he said. “And I think that is what we’re going to see nationally as we try to stimulate our economy and go back to a pro-job growth economic outlook.”

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Audio clips:

Rep. Joe Heck says Obama has failed to address the federal deficit:

051512Heck1 :24 are not stupid.”

Heck says Obama promised early on in his term to cut the deficit:

051512Heck2 :20 this president’s administration.”

Heck says Romney’s time at Bain Capital resulted in more jobs created than lost:

051512Heck3 :27 created somewhere else.”

CARSON CITY – Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said today he agrees with his congressional colleague in opposing federal legislation requiring online merchants to levy sales taxes on purchases.

Heck, interviewed on the Face To Face television program, said he agrees with U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., in opposing such legislation in Congress.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.

The question of internet taxation has become an issue in Nevada with Gov. Brian Sandoval’s recent agreement with online retailing giant Amazon to begin collecting Nevada sales tax on purchases.

The deal reached by Sandoval and Amazon is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2014, (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., said today he agrees with his congressional colleague in opposing federal legislation requiring online merchants to levy sales taxes on purchases.

Heck, interviewed on the Face To Face television program, said he agrees with U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., in opposing such legislation in Congress.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.

The question of internet taxation has become an issue in Nevada with Gov. Brian Sandoval’s recent agreement with online retailing giant Amazon to begin collecting Nevada sales tax on purchases.

The deal reached by Sandoval and Amazon is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2014, or sooner if federal legislation is passed to allow states to collect revenues from internet purchases.

Heller said in a statement that he remains opposed to such federal legislation.

“Sen. Heller does not support imposing a federal internet sales tax mandate,” said Chandler Smith, campaign spokeswoman for Heller, in response to an email inquiry. “The Amazon agreement in Nevada is a state issue.”

Heck today said he agreed with Heller although he had no issue with Sandoval’s deal with Amazon. But the sales tax rate is different in many counties, he said.

“I do, I do,” Heck said. “I don’t think we should be collecting the sales tax at this time via the internet until the state figures out a way to be able to apply whatever tax rate they are going to apply in a uniform manner. We have a different rate here than we have in Washoe than we have in Elko. Which sales tax is the state going to collect.”

Heck was also asked about President Obama’s announcement last week that he believes gay couples should have the right to marry.

“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” he said. “I believe that the people of the state of Nevada have made that decision, they put it in our state constitution.”

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Audio clips:

Rep. Joe Heck says now is not the time for federal legislation requiring internet sales tax collections:

051412Heck1 :15 going to collect.”

Heck says marriage is between a man and a woman:

051412Heck2 :09 our state constitution.”

CARSON CITY – Five finalists, including four current staff with the Nevada Legislature’s Legislative Counsel Bureau, are seeking the position of director of the agency.

Paul Townsend, currently the legislative auditor and a member of the LCB staff since 1987; Kevin Powers, chief litigation counsel and a member of the LCB staff since 1996; Richard Combs, currently an Assembly fiscal analyst and member of the LCB staff since 1994; and Nicolas Anthony, currently senior principal deputy legislative counsel and a member of the LCB staff since 2008; are all finalists.

The fifth candidate is Bryant Howe, currently the assistant director of the Office of Legislative Research and General (Continue reading...)]]> CARSON CITY – Five finalists, including four current staff with the Nevada Legislature’s Legislative Counsel Bureau, are seeking the position of director of the agency.

Paul Townsend, currently the legislative auditor and a member of the LCB staff since 1987; Kevin Powers, chief litigation counsel and a member of the LCB staff since 1996; Richard Combs, currently an Assembly fiscal analyst and member of the LCB staff since 1994; and Nicolas Anthony, currently senior principal deputy legislative counsel and a member of the LCB staff since 2008; are all finalists.

The fifth candidate is Bryant Howe, currently the assistant director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel for the state of Utah.

The candidates are seeking to replace Lorne Malkiewich, who retired as director of the LCB in early April after serving in the position for more than 18 years.

The position pays $138,000 a year.

A brochure announcing a search for a new director describes the ideal candidate as, “a leader who is decisive, credible, trustworthy, and result-oriented. The ideal candidate must have exceptional analytical skills and strong political acumen.”

A reception for the five finalists is set for 7 p.m. today at the Legislative Building here in the capital.

A panel of lawmakers charged with selecting finalists for the position, the Committee to Consult with the Director, will interview the candidates Tuesday. The panel is also scheduled to discuss its recommendations for the new director for forwarding to the Legislative Commission for the final selection.

The Legislative Commission is scheduled to meet May 30.

Malkiewich, who had more than 30 years with the Legislative Counsel Bureau, is now the chief operating officer for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in Reno.