Monday, November 11, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

A few questions to consider as the sun sets on campaign 2002

When pondering postelection tidbits, what does it say when:

• Thirty-four percent of those who voted in Assembly District 34 cast ballots for Republican Richard Gardner, who admitted molesting his two daughters, rather than incumbent Ellen Koivisto? Was Gardner really more attractive to those voters than, heaven forbid, a Democrat?

• The protest vote of "none of these candidates" in statewide races beat out nearly all the minor party candidates? Only Independent American candidate Jonathan Hansen, running for attorney general, edged out "none." Each pulled about 4 percent of the vote.

• Four of the Independent American candidates received more votes than there are members in their party? County election officials have long held that many of the 15,776 people registered as Independent Americans believe they have registered as independents. But with Jonathan Hansen receiving 19,985 votes for attorney general, Christopher Hansen receiving 18,021 votes for secretary of state, Mark Andrews receiving 26,892 votes for state treasurer, and Lisa Black receiving 20,478 votes for controller, maybe the party really is growing in numbers. Or maybe people think they're voting for independents when they're not.

• Different judges get different vote totals when they run unopposed? The top three vote-getters in the unopposed judgeships in Clark County: Joseph Bonaventure, Valorie Vega and Ron Parraguirre. The bottom three: Allen Earl, Art Richie and Mark Denton. Bonaventure is Clark County's highest profile judge, handling the Binion and Rudin murder trials among many other notorious cases.

• The number of new candidates who are Hispanic elected in Clark County races is ... zero?

• Democrats cheered more at their Election Night party for congressional loser Dario Herrera than congressional winner Shelley Berkley? Nevada Democratic Party Executive Director Pam Egan said it was because "people felt he was treated unfairly and badly through this process; the media campaign waged against him by the opposition was unfair."

Surprise, surprise

The big surprises of the night, according to the political consultants who know more than the average Joe and Jane about politics:

• The loss by Democratic Assemblywoman Debbie Smith in Washoe County to Republican Don Gustavson. Democrats and Republicans expected the likable Smith to win in a district where Democrats enjoyed a registration advantage. Gustavson won by working harder, according to Republican leader Lynn Hettrick.

• The margin of victory in the attorney general's race, where Republican Brian Sandoval defeated Democrat John Hunt by 24 percentage points. "I thought more Democrats would be coming home," said Democratic consultant Billy Vassiliadis.

• The Republicans winning 19 seats in the Assembly, an increase of four seats, even though Democrats drew the redistricting lines in the 2001 Legislature. "The Democrats had a carte blanche to draw the lines in the Assembly, so the Republicans getting to 19 is a big deal," said Mike Slanker, who was part of the redistricting process for the GOP.

A star is born

Of the 42 members of the Assembly, 16 are freshmen.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins made an early prediction of who his Democratic freshmen stars will be in the next session: Kelvin Atkinson, Marcus Conklin and William Horne, all from Clark County. He said they may be "diamonds in the rough," but he said the Democratic caucus has some "super" new blood.

Assembly Minority Leader Hettrick listed his GOP stars: In Clark County, Joe Hardy, Walter Andonov and Rod Sherer; in Northern Nevada, Jason Geddes and Pete Goicoechea (who will no doubt challenge Chris Giunchigliani for the most often mispronounced name).

Temporarily off Hettrick's list was Josh Griffin, who last week was mounting a challenge to Hettrick's leadership position. They mended their fences, and Griffin is now considered one of Hettrick's stars.

Check back when the session ends next spring and see if their predictions come true.