Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'I've seen the light' on nuclear waste, Dean tells Las Vegans

Presidential candidate Howard Dean greets supporters Tuesday at the North Las Vegas Airport on his way to a fund-raiser. Photo by John Locher.

When Howard Dean was governor of Vermont, he urged his senator to support the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain because "I wanted to get that stuff out of my state."

But, he told about 200 supporters Tuesday night at a fund-raiser in Las Vegas, "now that I'm running for president, I've seen the light."

Dean stopped short of saying he was against burying the nation's nuclear waste 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, vowing, as numerous politicians including President Bush have before him, to "review the science."

"There's been some suggestion that the science at Yucca may be faulty," Dean said earlier during an interview at the North Las Vegas Airport. "My position is that it's not safe to leave the nuclear waste in 100 locations across the country, and before we put it at Yucca we had better review the science very carefully.

"Nevada will vote Democratic this time simply because President Bush tried to turn you into a nuclear waste state," Dean told about 25 supporters who gathered to greet him at the airport.

Later, at the fund-raiser at a home in the gated Ten Oaks community, Dean told the crowd that, if elected, he would stop construction of the repository until a complete safety review is conducted.

Yucca Mountain was but one issue that Dean highlighted in attacking Bush.

In his stump speech, he spoke of his opposition to the war in Iraq, urged a repeal of Bush's tax cuts, and proposed health insurance for all Americans.

Organizers of the reception and a $1,000-a-person dinner that followed said Dean would raise more than $200,000 by night's end.

"The amount of donations will never touch what Bush has," said Clark Adams, founder of the grass roots Nevadans for Dean. "But he's raising money and relying on volunteers around the country like no other candidate has before."

Paolo and Sybil Scianna, who have lived in Las Vegas for 30 years, said they have never actively supported any candidate, but went to the airport to greet Dean.

"He's brought the campaign to the average middle-class person," Paolo Scianna said.

Democratic Party turnout at the fund-raiser was high, with elected officials, grass-roots organizers and a strong contingent of gay Democrats joining in support.

"I like him more every time I hear him," said Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who also is chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee's Black Caucus.

Mel Pohl, a doctor who hosted the cocktail reception with his partner, Rand Young, said he got chills listening to Dean speak last year at a small fund-raiser in Las Vegas for the Stonewall Democrats.

Gays and lesbians are following Dean's campaign closely because, as governor of Vermont, he signed the nation's only civil union law.

Pohl said Dean "simply stated it was the right thing to do. When was the last time somebody in the White House did something because it was the right thing to do?"

Dean is the fourth presidential candidate to visit Las Vegas this year, but the first to provide access to the media and meet the public, as he did at the airport.

Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., and retired Gen. Wesley Clark all have come to Las Vegas for private fund-raisers this year.

Vice President Dick Cheney already has raised money in Las Vegas, and Bush is expected to come by year's end.

Many in the crowd said they still were undecided about which of the Democratic candidates they preferred, but most said their support would go to "anybody but Bush."

Dean has tailored his message around tax cuts and foreign policy.

Dean said that, although he would repeal all of $1.3 trillion of Bush's tax cuts, he would put money back in the pockets of the middle class by restoring funding for other programs.

"The middle class in this country did not get a tax cut," Dean said. "They got $304 and it was eaten up by tuition increases and property tax increases."

Dean said he would fully fund programs like Pell Grants and some aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act, which requires success for all demographic groups taking the test. Dean said he opposes most of No Child Left Behind, however.

On foreign policy, he said he supported the first Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan, but has never agreed with the Bush administration over the current war in Iraq.

He said his plan for health care insurance would cost $87 billion and could be accomplished by repealing the tax cuts.

"It's not a liberal plot concocted in Vermont," he said. "It will work."