POLITICAL EYE: Republicans try to woo Latino voters

Democrats hold the advantage in the political tug of war over the Latino vote in Nevada.

With the 2012 election in sight, Republicans are trying to gain some leverage.

Nevada GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian last Friday told Hispanic activists the party is looking to hire two directors of Latino outreach, one each in Southern and Northern Nevada.

"We know the Hispanic population is important and is growing and it cannot be ignored," Tarkanian said during a breakfast meeting of Hispanics in Politics, which bills itself as the oldest Latino political organization in Nevada. "We want you to know that we welcome you."

Hispanics, however, haven't always felt welcome in the Republican Party, which has generally taken tough stands against illegal immigration and opposed comprehensive reform to fix the problem.

Tarkanian made the argument that President Barack Obama hasn't come through for Hispanics on immigration reform or on creating jobs as unemployment hits double digits among Latinos.

"You think Obama has done you any good?" Tarkanian asked. "Has he helped you?"

The answer is yes, according to Roberta Lange, the chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party who was invited to the same breakfast meeting of about three dozen Hispanic activists.

Lange said Obama has pushed for immigration reform and for passage of the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who go to college or join the military.

Obama and Democrats also have been working to help middle-class workers, including Hispanics, Lange said. She noted Obama wants to extend a payroll tax cut, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and most Republicans in Congress have been blocking an extension.

"If it doesn't pass by the end of the year, it will be a tax increase for the middle class," Lange said.

Democrats already have a Hispanic outreach director in Nevada, she said, noting the party often holds Latino events, including one last month for high school students. Some students will be able to vote for Obama and other Democrats for the first time if they turn 18 by next November.

The Latino vote was key to Obama's victory in Nevada in 2008 when he won more than two-thirds of Hispanics. The group also helped U.S. Sen. Harry Reid win re-election in 2010, Lange said.

According to the latest U.S. Census, Hispanics make up 26 percent of Nevada's population of 2.7 million. And Latinos accounted for about 15 percent of the electorate in 2008 and 2010.

-- Laura Myers

LATIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, the state's first Hispanic governor, is the most important ambassador to the Latino community among Republican politicians, according to Tarkanian.

Sandoval is scheduled this Friday to swear in the Latin Chamber of Commerce's new board, for example. The gala event will be held at the Paris Las Vegas.

Joe Hernandez, the incoming vice chairman of the chamber, told Tarkanian more GOP politicians need to get comfortable with Latino audiences if the GOP wants more friends in the community.

Hernandez said he was still upset U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., canceled an October meeting with the Latin chamber. Heller's staff said he canceled because a Democratic operative wanted to videotape the event and a staffer of his opponent, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., was present.

"It gives us a perception again that we're not that important," Hernandez said of Hispanics.

Tarkanian called Heller's last-minute cancellation of the meeting "unfortunate," but said she has been assured that "he will attend from now on."

Heller's Southern Nevada director Jack Finn attended the Hispanic breakfast, but he didn't speak up during the event. Asked afterward whether Heller is arranging another meeting with the Latin chamber, Finn said, "We are going to continue our outreach effort there."

-- Laura Myers

LONGTIME SPEAKER'S TAKE

Longtime Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, blames the partisanship in Congress for the growing rift between Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature.

"It is coming from the national parties," said
Dini, 82, about the
my-way-or-the-highway attitude in today's politics. "They all watch TV and they all want to be the big playmaker," he said about the current crop of state legislators.

Dini, who served eight sessions as Assembly speaker, retired in 2002 after a record 36 years in the Assembly. During many of those years, he was speaker even though the Clark County Democrats dominated the Assembly and rural legislators held only a handful of seats.

"I wouldn't have been speaker except for the support of Jack Jeffrey and Marvin Sedway" both Clark County Democrats, he said. "I couldn't do anything without Clark County."

Rural and Washoe County legislators may never again win top leadership posts in the Legislature because of the growing dominance of Clark County and term limits restricting legislators from serving more than 12 years in each house, according to Dini.

He said Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, has an outside chance of becoming speaker in 2013, but she would have to build a coalition with some Clark County Democrats to defeat speaker candidates such as Assembly Majority Leader Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas.

"I don't know what will happen," said Dini, who has stopped following legislative action but served with Smith during the 2001 session. "I think she would be a good speaker."

Dini credits Republicans such as Virgil Getto of Fallon, Lou Bergevin of Gardnerville and Bode Howard of Winnemucca for working with Democrats to pass balanced budgets without partisan bickering.

"In those days, we had a goal to balance the budget and get out of there," added Dini, who delivered the eulogy at Bergevin's funeral in 1998.

At one point in the early 1990s, Bergevin wanted to pass a tax on services -- a seemingly inevitable tax that likely will be debated at the next legislative session -- and had his party's support, according to Dini. But just as voting started, he withdrew the bill when some of his party members backed down.

Dini now spends most of his time at home in Yerington with his wife, Mouryne, the longtime Assembly secretary. His health, he added, is "not very good, but I'm still up here."

A San Francisco Giants fan, Dini said he became ill in Phoenix last spring when he went to spring training. He ultimately spent three weeks in the hospital. Other than occasional trips to Reno or Lake Tahoe, Dini now prefers time at home.

-- Ed Vogel

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers
@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel
@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.