Chairez Krolicki Miller Marshall Martin

Nevadans have new choices for the state's constitutional offices in this year's election. Gov. Kenny Guinn, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, Treasurer Brian Krolicki and Secretary of State Dean Heller are vacating their positions because of term limits. Attorney General George Chanos, appointed after Brian Sandoval accepted a federal judgeship, isn't seeking election. And Controller Steve Martin will face the electorate for the first time after being appointed this summer to replace the late Kathy Augustine.

The Review-Journal offers the following endorsements for the five constitutional offices other than governor:

In the attorney general's race, Republican Don Chairez faces Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto. Mr. Chairez is a former county prosecutor and District Court judge, while Ms. Cortez Masto is a former federal prosecutor and assistant Clark County manager who once served as chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Miller.

Ms. Cortez Masto is an experienced administrator who wants to use the state's top law enforcement job to advocate tougher criminal penalties and provide leadership on local law enforcement issues such as methamphetamine use and distribution, identity theft, elder and child abuse and domestic violence. She envisions having her deputies prosecute cases county DAs are too swamped to take on.

Mr. Chairez, meanwhile, promises to keep a watchful eye over local government wrongdoing. "Why should we punt corruption cases to the feds? ... If I see something wrong, I'm going to do something about it," Mr. Chairez said. He envisions ordering more investigations like the one commissioned by Mr. Chanos into the city of Las Vegas' deals with developer Bill Walters.

Now more than ever, Nevada needs an attorney general with an independent streak. Mr. Chairez, a driving force behind the Property Owner's Bill of Rights (Question 2 on the Nov. 7 ballot) and a longtime advocate of limited government powers, is that candidate. Voters should elect Don Chairez attorney general.

Democrat Ross Miller, Independent American Janine Hansen and Republican Danny Tarkanian are running for secretary of state, the office that manages commercial recordings and oversees elections.

Mr. Miller, a Clark County deputy district attorney, and Mr. Tarkanian, a businessman and nonpracticing attorney, have lots of ideas for election policy that would require legislative approval and are, therefore, outside their control. Voters should be more concerned with picking the best person to run the office.

That's Mr. Miller, who has the integrity to oversee elections and the ideas and work ethic to improve public access to campaign finance documents and make the office's transactions with businesses -- worth tens of millions of dollars annually to the state -- more efficient. We urge Mr. Miller to drop his proposals to increase the signature requirements for constitutional amendments and have the secretary of state draft the titles and text of initiative petitions; the initiative process needs less government interference, not more. Nonetheless, the Review-Journal endorses Ross Miller for secretary of state.

The lieutenant governor's race features Independent American Thomas Jefferson, Republican Brian Krolicki and Democrat Bob Unger. This is a largely ceremonial position, ostensibly tasked with overseeing economic development and tourism in Nevada. However, the holder of this office becomes governor if the state's chief executive resigns or dies in office.

Mr. Unger, a businessman and developer, dislikes the amount of money in politics and thinks it "needs to be fixed by government," possibly through taxpayer-financed campaigns; believes the best way to provide health coverage to all Nevadans is a massive expansion of Medicaid; and opposes Question 2 because he thinks eminent domain is a valuable redevelopment tool for governments.

Mr. Krolicki, the outgoing treasurer, has been an excellent steward of the public's assets, working to limit taxpayer liabilities in the burgeoning Millennium Scholarship program among other accomplishments. He has the financial background to recruit companies -- and new jobs -- for Nevada, and would be a more moderate governor should he rise to that post. Voters should elect Brian Krolicki lieutenant governor.

Independent American Mark Andrews, Republican Mark DeStefano and Democrat Kate Marshall are seeking the treasurer's office. Mr. Andrews is the vice president of a local credit union, Mr. DeStefano is a businessman and Ms. Marshall is a lawyer who spent seven years in the U.S. Department of Justice's anti-trust division and came to Nevada to launch the state attorney general's anti-trust division.

Ms. Marshall's background is in overseeing complicated financial transactions and supervising financial experts. Mr. Andrews has made a living managing assets and getting returns for his customers. Mr. DeStefano, meanwhile, was thrown off the 2004 ballot when a judge ruled he did not live in the district he sought to represent on the Board of Regents.

Ms. Marshall gets the nod here for her record of honest public service and her plans to save taxpayers money through renegotiated transaction fees and improved management of unclaimed property, although Mr. Andrews is also a solid choice. The Review-Journal endorses Kate Marshall for treasurer.

In the controller's race, Nevadans will choose from Independent American Floyd Fitzgibbons, Republican Steve Martin and Democrat Kim Wallin. The controller is the state's CFO, charged with issuing checks, managing accounting systems and overseeing collections of tax debts.

Voters can take comfort in knowing that Mr. Martin, who has held down the office since July, and Ms. Wallin are highly qualified for the office. They're both certified public accountants with decades of experience in finance.

Mr. Martin, also a certified fraud examiner, wins our endorsement for his commitment to use his office to uncover government waste and inefficiency. He's also an avowed fiscal conservative, an important trait considering the controller sits on the state Transportation Board. He wants to make sure the state addresses its projected eight-year, $4 billion highway construction funding shortfall as a slice of the whole budget pie, not an independent expenditure. "Raising taxes isn't the only option," Mr. Martin said of bridging the shortfall. Voters should keep Steve Martin as controller.