Sunday, August 22, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: It's primary season

A trio of races piques our interest

Beers O'Connell

Early balloting for the September primary began Saturday, as voters whittle down the field in various local, state and national races heading into November.

Two highly contested legislative contests stand out in particular, as does a spirited battle for a County Commission seat.

In the Republican primary for state Senate District 6, incumbent Ray Rawson is facing his most difficult challenge in Bob Beers, a three-term assemblyman. Mr. Rawson has served with distinction in Carson City since 1985 and is an honorable, well-respected politician. But he too consistently embraces higher taxes and has done little during his tenure to check government spending or growth. It was no surprise that he supported virtually every tax increase proposal presented to the 2003 Legislature.

Mr. Beers, on the other hand, has time and again demonstrated his devotion to fiscal sanity and limited government. He was the point man for the small group of lawmakers who sought to stymie those eager to hammer Nevadans with the largest tax increase in state history last year. Mr. Beers has a no-nonsense, straight-talking approach that has made him plenty of enemies among those who believe they should have first dibs on the hard-earned income of working Nevadans. He favors market-oriented reforms in education and won't coddle the state's ever-expanding bureaucracy.

The winner of this race will almost certainly breeze through the general election, given the district's demographics. Bob Beers is one of the few friends on whom taxpayers can consistently rely in Carson City. We urge GOP voters in District 6 to promote him to the state Senate.

In state Senate District 5, four-term state Sen. Ann O'Connell finds herself in a hotly contested race against physician Joe Heck in the GOP primary. Ms. O'Connell is one of the most principled lawmakers in Carson City, yet gamers have slapped a bull's eye on her back due to her refusal to support the industry's tax proposals during the past legislative session.

Mr. Heck is apparently their man. He is an articulate, intelligent candidate, but his effort to paint Ms. O'Connell as a big spender for a procedural vote she cast in 2003 borders on the ludicrous. Ms. O'Connell has consistently been the most fiscally conservative voice in the upper chamber for the better part of two decades.

Had Mr. Heck decided to run for an open seat or to challenge a sitting Democratic incumbent, he'd likely have received our support. But he offers no compelling reason to replace Ms. O'Connell. Republicans in District 5 should stick with Ann O'Connell.

In the Democratic primary for the County Commission seat in District B, voters have an opportunity to stand up for ethical and virtuous public service by turning out incumbent Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, who was indicted last year on political corruption charges.

The issue is whether the commissioner accepted money in exchange for votes that benefitted a local strip club owner.

Ms. Kincaid-Chauncey maintains her innocence -- a trial isn't expected to be set until next year -- but the behavior revealed on FBI tapes (arranging to accept large sums of cash in the front seats of cars, demanding $15,000 to pay a relative's tuition at an Olympic ski school) is in and of itself enough cause for voters to reject her, regardless of the outcome of the corruption case.

Straight-talking, common-sense state Assemblyman Tom Collins is challenging Ms. Kincaid-Chauncey in the Democratic primary. He would be a far preferable choice to the federally indicted Mary Kincaid-Chauncey.