Independent groups running anti-McCain spot advertising

As if being bombarded by presidential candidate and political party ads weren't enough, independent groups also are starting to flood the airwaves in Nevada as the election nears.

The Wake Up Wal-Mart campaign, a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, is targeting Nevada and eight other states with a television ad about alleged pay discrimination against women at the big-box retailer, which it ties to Republican John McCain.

"They put in the same long hours as men, but take home less," the ad says. "Mothers, daughters, breadwinners. ... But when fair pay legislation came to the Senate, John McCain helped defeat it."

The liberal group MoveOn.org also has been airing anti-McCain ads.

On a less partisan note, the New Policy Institute, an affiliate of the liberal group NDN, is airing Spanish-language radio ads in the Las Vegas market urging Hispanics to vote for the sake of their illustrious forebears.

Invoking Roberto Clemente, Selena and Cesar Chavez, the ad says, "Yes, we have come really far, but we can't live from glories of the past. This year, it is up to you to decide if we stay where we are or if we continue to move forward."

Both presidential candidates have in the past spoken out against outside groups putting up big money to influence elections, but both have gone mysteriously mum on the subject as the election nears. Still, observers say at least so far, the amount of independent expenditure advertising in the presidential race is nowhere near the deluge seen in 2004.

HENDERSON HIJINKS

The race for Henderson mayor is turning into a free-for-all, with two of the five members of the City Council and one former member readying runs in next year's municipal election.

Former Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers last week announced her candidacy for the position, which is being vacated by popular Mayor Jim Gibson because of term limits. Cyphers served on the council from 1995 to 2007.

A news release kicking off her run touted Cyphers' dedication to the job, noting that she "sold her successful medical auditing business in 1995 to be a full-time councilwoman. She has once again closed out her business interests to devote her entire attention to the mayoral race. If successfully elected, she will be a full-time mayor for our city."

Also still planning to run, they said recently, are Councilmen Steve Kirk and Andy Hafen.

"I'm in with both feet. Definitely I'm going to run," Kirk said last week.

Hafen, interviewed at a community event last month, also said he still had his sights on the post.

Both men said they plan to make an official announcement in the next couple of months, after all the hubbub from the general election has died down.

As for why so many of his current and former colleagues on the council feel as he does, Kirk said this level of interest is to be expected "anytime you have an open seat."

"If Jim Gibson could run again, I don't think any of us would be interested in running," said Kirk, who described the outgoing mayor as a prime example of term limits forcing a good public servant out the door.

The other members of the council are newcomer Gerri Schroder and Jack Clark. Clark has been the subject of rumors he, too, might make a run, but Kirk said Clark plans to support his bid. Clark didn't return a phone call last week.

City Council races are technically nonpartisan, but if you must know, Kirk and Cyphers are Republicans, while Hafen and Gibson are Democrats.

Interestingly, when Hafen was asked who he's planning to vote for in the race between Republican Jon Porter and Democrat Dina Titus for the 3rd Congressional District, he demurred.

Two years ago, Hafen's daughter Tessa took on Porter in what turned out to be a nasty fight. You'd think Andy Hafen couldn't wait to see Porter gone this time around.

But Hafen has also known Porter, a former Boulder City mayor and councilman, for more than two decades. And so, he said, he's not telling. "I'll go into the booth and make my choice."

MASTER OF TIMING

Gov. Jim Gibbons angered some of the people he can least afford to alienate with the announcement last week that he's holding a fundraiser at Lake Tahoe this Saturday.

Sources say some of his top political advisers counseled against holding the event, which features a host committee of wealthy Northern Nevadans and a $250-a-head price of admission. In a time of economic crunch, with businesses squeezed, political donations are hard to come by, and the Republicans who need the money the most are the ones whose elections are next month, not Gibbons, whose re-election effort is in 2010.

Specifically, Republican insiders said, vulnerable state Senate Republicans Bob Beers and Joe Heck need to keep their seats if Gibbons is to have any hope of getting support in next year's' legislative session. If either of them loses, Democrats will control both the Assembly and state Senate.

"Competing with your own candidates in a tough cycle with limited funds?" one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's easier to sell Chinese milk than the Republican brand this year."

It's not known how much campaign cash Gibbons has on hand. He doesn't have to report it until January.

POLL: OBAMA PULLS AHEAD

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of Nevada voters puts Democrat Barack Obama out front of Republican John McCain, 51 percent to 47 percent.

That's consistent with another independent poll released last week, an Opinion Research Corp. survey that also had Obama up 51-47. In addition, an InsiderAdvantage poll put Obama at 48 percent, McCain at 47 percent.

The polls appear to be trending in Obama's direction after several months in which McCain generally enjoyed a small but consistent lead.

The Rasmussen poll of 700 likely voters carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Previously, Rasmussen polls, which are conducted by automated phone call, had not put Obama in the lead here since July.

Obama leads by nine points among Nevada women, the pollster noted, but trails by two points among men.

Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report. Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.