Monday, June 20, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Western states primary gains ground in Nevada

Governor, others support idea for earlier voting to give state more political clout, but proposals attracted little attention from Legislatures

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Clark County Commission seat held by Myrna Williams. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Myrna Williams has some powerful friends who want her to retain her Clark County Commission seat, including Steve Wynn, Terri Lanni and Mike Ensign. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada's political leaders say they support the idea of an early Western states primary to give voters more clout in the 2008 presidential race, but Legislatures in the past have been reluctant to endorse such a proposal.

The idea of a Western states primary, likely sometime in February 2008, is being pushed by Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. States that have expressed an interest include New Mexico, Montana, Colorado and Arizona in addition to Nevada.

Gov. Kenny Guinn supports an early primary because of concerns that Nevada and other Western states get lost in the shuffle as Republican and Democratic presidential candidates focus their attention in other regions of the country, said his spokesman, John Trent.

"By the time Nevadans vote, the candidates have already been picked," Trent said. "If the primary can be pushed up, it would give Western states, including Nevada, more prominence."

Renee Parker, chief deputy secretary of state, said her boss, Dean Heller, also supports the idea of an early Western states primary.

"We can't really say it would help with Nevada issues like Yucca Mountain, but it is an opportunity to put Nevada issues on the forefront," she said. "It would be good for us. We're just ignored now."

But efforts to move the primary earlier into the year have not been successful in the Legislature, Parker said. This session, for the first time, lawmakers agreed to move it back to mid-August from September, she said. Heller proposed moving the state's regular primary election date to May but met with resistance.

Parker said the answer may be a presidential preference primary only, using mail-in ballots.

Efforts in the Legislature to create an earlier presidential primary in Nevada have not met with much success.

A bill was introduced in the just-concluded 2005 session by Assemblyman Bob McCleary, D-North Las Vegas, to create a presidential preference primary, but the measure never made it out of committee.

The bill proposed holding the primary in February 2008 and sought $1.4 million to pay for conducting the election.

McCleary could not be reached for comment, but in testimony on his bill, he said a February date would make Nevada the 10th state in the nation to hold a primary.

Nevada experimented with a presidential primary in 1996, with only Republicans participating, but the proposal was not renewed in future legislative sessions. Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., won the March 26 primary in Nevada with nearly 52 percent of the vote.

An effort to create an eight-state Western presidential primary in the 1999 session of the Nevada Legislature also failed. Lawmakers refused to appropriate $1.4 million to pay the costs of the primary, making Nevada one of five states that had second thoughts about the idea.

Keeping Williams

A quiet move is under way to secure Myrna Williams' seat on the Clark County Commission against a possible challenge from Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani.

Some of the annointers on the Strip have committed $400,000 to the effort, according to Republican consultant Sig Rogich. They include gamers Steve Wynn, Terri Lanni and Mike Ensign, with Frank Schreck and Democratic ad man Billy Vassiliadis thrown in for good measure.

Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has not made a decision about whether to run, but does have the political stable to make a clear bid for the seat. Her husband, Gary Gray, has had a recent string of successful consulting jobs for candidate clients.

Gray and Associates helped get Steve Ross elected to the Las Vegas City Council and Sean Hoeffgen elected to the North Las Vegas Municipal Court in the recent municipal elections.

The firm also has Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins' victory last year to its credit.

Why the push behind Williams?

Apparently those powers are happy with the status quo, particularly when it comes to gaming issues that come before the commission, one political observer said.

Giunchigliani is no shrinking violet, pursuing one of the most aggressive legislative agendas in Carson City and serving as the spokeswoman of sorts for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

Review-Journal writer Erin Neff contributed to this report.