Democrats could shut out Republicans on County Commission

History was made during the primary races and could be made again in the general election.

Term limits blocked a longtime Clark County commissioner from seeking re-election, something that had never happened before.

Now a strong possibility looms that Democrats could fill all the commission seats for the first time in 40 years. If that happens, it would be the first time ever that the party completely ran the board since it went to seven members in the late 1980s, according to a local historian.

Although Democrats now have five seats, the chance of their grabbing the entire pie has many local Republicans worried. Some political analysts, scholars and activists, however, argue that the one-sided makeup would have little impact because the commission mostly tackles nonpartisan concerns such as fixing roads, and local Democrats are usually moderate to conservative.

Bernie Zadrowski, local Republican Party chairman, agreed that a pothole is politically neutral, as are many problems that come before the board.

But he contends that commissioners choose one party over the other for a reason.

"There is a stark difference between Republicans and Democrats -- the difference between how they would spend taxpayers' money," Zadrowski said. "Fiscally, that's where the divide is."

Even at the county level, Republicans push for lower taxes, smaller government and fiscal conservatism, he said. And they take a more pro-business tack.

But Gary Gray, a campaign consultant who mainly represents Democrats, said Zadrowski was "grabbing at any twigs in the stream" to make party politics seem more significant than they really are on the commission.

Citing examples, Gray said he sees little difference in policymaking between commissioners Rory Reid, a Democrat, and Chip Maxfield, a Republican. And he doubts the average citizen would notice glaring changes if Democrats filled every seat.

"I think Bernie knows that, but he's got to rally the troops around something," said Gray, who is married to Democratic Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.

REPUBLICANS VACATE SEATS

The potential for an all-Democrat commission came about when the state Supreme Court ruled that Bruce Woodbury, a Republican, couldn't run again because of term limits.

A nearly 28-year incumbent, Woodbury, by all accounts, would have been a shoo-in for the District A seat.

Brian Scroggins, a Republican whom the popular Woodbury endorses, is now pitted against Regent Steve Sisolak, a Democrat with a hefty bank account.

Scroggins and his supporters agree that Sisolak will be a tough contender, given that he has pitched in at least $500,000 of his own money to his campaign.

In District C, Maxfield, another ensconced Republican, will not run again after serving eight years on the commission.

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, a Democrat, is squaring off against Assemblywoman Valerie Weber, a Republican, for the District C seat.

Most pundits give Brown the edge because, as a city councilman, he is in the public eye more often than Weber, who is part of a Legislature that meets every other year.

However, few are discounting Weber this early.

In the other commission races, incumbents Tom Collins and Lawrence Weekly, both Democrats, are favored by pundits to win given that their opponents are virtually unknown.

'NOT A BERKELEY DEMOCRAT'

Democrats have dominated the commission since the days when the Hoover Dam was being built and workers coalesced within a party they felt served their interests, state Archivist Guy Rocha said.

From those roots sprang the traditional Southern Nevada Democrat, a rough-cut, roll-up-the-sleeves, labor-minded worker with an independent streak, a hunting rifle at home and the desire to be rewarded fairly for an honest day's toil, he said.

That's different from the socially active, eco-minded types who rail against war, poverty and injustice, the liberal types you'd find in Boston or the Bay Area, he added.

"It is a union-based Democrat," Rocha said. "It's not a Berkeley Democrat."

Collins, who works as an electrical contractor, epitomizes the blue-collar Democrat, he added.

Through the 1950s, the smaller, three-person commission was all Democrats, Rocha said. In 1960, it expanded to five members and remained purely Democratic through at least half of the '60s.

Records show that 1968 was the last year that Democrats filled all seats, Rocha said.

It's important to note that in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, many Democrats were extremely conservative, Rocha said.

They disliked social programs, and some fiercely opposed civil rights and integration.

"There was definitely a tinge of Dixiecrat," Rocha said, referring to the old, Southern brand of Democrat.

Patrick McCarran, a Democrat, despised President Franklin Roosevelt and was as rabidly anti-Communist as Joseph McCarthy, Rocha said.

McCarran, though, did approve of federal funding for one purpose: building an interstate freeway to encourage travelers to visit and gamble, an ethos that continues among local politicians to this day.

"It's basically the same policy as the Republicans, and that is to promote growth in the Las Vegas area," said Eugene Moehring, an author and history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Democrats were uneasy about the mounting civil-rights crusades, Moehring said. The forceful stance on civil rights taken by President Kennedy and his successor, President Johnson, pushed some local Democrats more to the left than they wanted to go, he said.

But it took searing publicity about riots in black neighborhoods and reports about black celebrities like Willie Mays being denied lodging on the Strip to finally force area leaders, including Democrats, to embrace civil rights, Moehring said.

Even then, the motives were more about protecting the city's image and its tourism industry than doing the right thing, Moehring said. "It looks bad on TV."

PARTIES MORE SIMILAR THAN DIFFERENT

Through the years, local Democrats have not evolved into liberals, Moehring said. They, like Republicans, concentrate on keeping taxes low while fostering growth.

"I think it's consensus politics at the city and county level," Moehring said. "They don't argue much. The battles are at the state and national level."

Unlike New York, California or Oregon, Nevada has no liberal enclave, Rocha said. And few, if any, elected leaders in the state could be truly called leftist, he said.

The Las Vegas City Council is made up of Democrats, and their high priority is redeveloping the downtown area, said Gray, the campaign consultant.

"Nobody has said the City Council is a bastion of liberal reform," Gray said.

David Damore, a UNLV political science professor, said an all-Democratic commission would not suddenly morph into a body that would wave a "raise taxes" banner.

"We're in Nevada," Damore said.

However, such a board might embolden commissioners to be more allied with conservationists, he said.

"You might get a little more attention to environmental issues," Damore said. "Environmental groups might become more aggressive. Developers would have to make a few more concessions."

One activist is not so sure.

"I don't think we would have a more conservation-conscious commission," said Scot Rutledge, executive director of the Nevada Conservation League. "Historically, we've seen a pro-growth agenda at the local level of government."

Democrats and Republicans alike have received campaign contributions from developers, making it tougher for these elected officials to say "no" to projects that could hurt the environment, Rutledge said.

On the flip side, the commission has shown bipartisan support for some conservation efforts, such as developing nature preserves, he said.

Christopher Kaempfer, an attorney who has represented developers for 30 years, doesn't think a purely Democratic commission would hinder his clients any more than past boards.

"I've seen Democrats very much pro-development, and I've seen Republicans very much pro-neighborhood," Kaempfer said. "It's more individually driven than party driven."

NOT ALWAYS LABOR'S BEST FRIEND

Unions might find a more sympathetic ear if every commissioner were a Democrat, said Damore, because the party has traditionally championed organized labor.

But one Service Employees International Union representative said not every Democrat is a better ally to unions than every Republican.

"That would be an oversimplification," said Sharon Kisling, a supervisory steward with SEIU Local 110. "We do have many Republicans that support working families."

The union endorsed Woodbury, a Republican, because of his voting record and his views on treating workers fairly, Kisling said.

That said, Democratic candidates tend to get the union's blessing more often, she added.

Former County Commissioner Lynette Boggs, a Republican, faces felony perjury charges that she has said sprang from her alienation of two local unions.

Boggs is accused of filing a false campaign report in which she claimed to live in a house within her district when her foes contend she actually lived outside the boundaries.

The Las Vegas Police Protective Association and Culinary Local 226 paid investigators to scrutinize Boggs.

Boggs has stated publicly that the unions targeted her because she voted in 2005 to remove Commissioner Collins from the panel that was about to approve a raise for the police union.

Collins backed the raise and Boggs' vote was seen as opposition to the raise.

In past years, commissioners granted unions' demands for sizable raises to public employees, but the ailing economy will curb that practice, even if the commission were to become all-Democrat, said Steve Miller, vice president for policy at the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

"We've seen the worst of that for a while," Miller said. "I tend to think the times are going to constrain them. Voters will be watching more closely, and could punish someone who is more of a spendthrift."

But whether it's labor, the environment or managing growth, an all-Democrat commission would take a different approach than an all-Republican body, said John Hunt, chairman of the Clark County Democratic Party.

"I think it does have an effect," Hunt said. "I think the ideology comes into play."

Zadrowski, the Republican chairman, agrees that political makeup can't be ignored.

"We are looking for balance," Zadrowski said. "If you have known quantities who are conservative, like Valerie Weber and Brian Scroggins, they will provide balance to what's there now."

Still, Board of Regents member Thalia Dondero, a lifelong Democrat, recalls an absence of party agendas during her 20-year tenure on the commission.

Commissioners were too busy dealing with the area's intense growth to pay much attention to each other's party affiliation, Dondero said, recalling that no one based their decisions on partisan politics.

"I never noticed that difference," she said. "It was just working to get the job done."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.