Monday, May 10, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Poll: Commissioner faces fight

Many Democrats undecided about Kincaid-Chauncey

Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, a Democrat, faces a Sept. 7 primary against Assembly members Tom Collins and Vonne Chowning. Photo by Jeff Scheid/REVIEW-JOURNAL FILE PHOTO. Democrat Tom Gallagher wants to challenge Republican Rep. Jon Porter for the 3rd Congressional District seat. But first he must beat Ron von Felden in the Democratic primary. Photo by Clint Karlsen/REVIEW-JOURNAL FILE PHOTO.

A poll shows the residents of Clark County Commission District B have their doubts about incumbent Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, who was indicted last year on public corruption charges.

Kincaid-Chauncey, a Democrat, already faces a Sept. 7 primary against Assembly members Tom Collins and Vonne Chowning. Should she survive that contest, she likely would face North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Shari Buck, a Republican, in the Nov. 2 general election.

The poll, conducted April 25 to 27 and commissioned by Collins, surveyed 600 very likely voters. It shows a third of Democrats are undecided about whether to back the indicted commissioner, who is seeking her third term.

A question setting up a hypothetical Democratic primary shows 29 percent backing Collins and 26 percent backing Kincaid-Chauncey, with 32 percent of voters undecided. Chowning got 2.9 percent and North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith, who has not filed to enter the race, got 9 percent.

The poll shows Buck defeating Kincaid-Chauncey in a hypothetical general election matchup, 46 percent to 33 percent. It shows a Collins-Buck race as too close to call, with Collins at 36 percent and Buck at 32 percent. Thirty-one percent were undecided.

The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points for the general election questions and 6 percentage points for the primary election question.

"Tom Collins appears to be the only Democrat who can beat Kincaid-Chauncey and the only one who can beat Shari Buck," said Billy Rogers of The Southwest Group, which conducted the poll.

Collins was pleased with the numbers, referring to them on a news release he issued the day he filed for the office.

He also made a passing reference to Kincaid-Chauncey's troubles. The commissioner was indicted on public corruption charges stemming from allegations that strip club owner Michael Galardi paid commissioners thousands of dollars in exchange for political favors.

"I will not accept any donations from strip clubs," Collins said. "It's obvious that some (elected officials) have become too chummy and too dependent on strip club money."

Kincaid-Chauncey doubted the accuracy of Collins' poll. She said several polls have been conducted by various contenders in the district and that each had a different result.

She said Collins' numbers are not as high as those reflected in his poll, and she believes Chowning is more popular than the poll indicates.

Kincaid-Chauncey said her chances of winning the Democratic primary increase with each challenger who enters the race against her. She has a strong base of supporters who will vote for her, while the other candidates will have to share the remaining votes, Kincaid-Chauncey said.

"I anticipate the Democratic primary will not be as difficult as the general election," Kincaid-Chauncey said.

Buck said the poll shows little, except that Collins paid for the survey.

"Those numbers obviously show that Tom Collins did the poll," the Republican said. "What else do you expect it to show?"

Gallagher challenged

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., took a bit of a beating last week at a senior roundtable on Medicare hosted by his Democratic challenger, Tom Gallagher.

But when Democrat Ron von Felden filed to join them in the 3rd Congressional District race last week, his main target wasn't Porter, but Gallagher.

Von Felden, a 60-year-old attorney who has lived in Nevada since 1996, claimed that Gallagher, the former chief executive officer of Park Place Entertainment, was a carpetbagger because he is only renting a home in the district.

Gallagher has lived in Las Vegas for four years. Congressional candidates must live in the state they seek to represent, not the district, to seek a seat.

"He's the crown prince selected by our good people, (Sen.) Harry Reid and (Rep.) Shelley Berkley, just because he has money," von Felden said. "I don't believe that's a qualifying characteristic."

Josh Geise, Gallagher's campaign manager, said he wouldn't apologize for his candidate having the support of Reid and Berkley.

"This race isn't going to be about name calling. It's going to be about Jon Porter and his lack of independence in Washington," Geise said.

That was Gallagher's message Thursday when he discussed Medicare reforms with seniors at Sun City MacDonald Ranch and urged Porter to break with his party to repeal certain sections of the law.

Von Felden, who lost his only other try at elective office in a school board race in Pasa Robles, Calif., managed to bring up the incumbent. He called Porter a nice guy who finishes last because, he said, Porter kowtows to House Republican leader Tom DeLay.

Democrat Mark Budetich, a merchant mariner who lost the Democratic primary for in the 3rd Congressional District in 2002, also has filed for the seat; and Democrat Rick DeVoe, a union construction worker, is expected to file against Porter.

Contact political reporter Erin Neff

at 387-2906 or ENeff@reviewjournal.com.