Reid must show he’s more than thoughtful son of political powerhouse

Rory Reid pulled up to the curb outside Doris Hancock Elementary School in a Toyota hybrid. In a few minutes, he would make the biggest announcement of his life.

Rail slim at 47, with a young man's face and an old man's hair color, Reid returned to his elementary school not surrounded by an entourage of sage political advisers or a gaggle of back-slapping sycophants, but by himself.

The announcement itself was populated mostly by the standard political and media types: party stalwarts, union members, senior citizens, elected officials, and TV and print reporters with an eye on deadline. It reminded me of the times I've covered marathon races that started in the pre-dawn and ran into the early daylight. If you're looking for a big crowd, you'll have to move closer to the finish line.

There's a tendency to want to lump Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid as a chip off the old block of his famous and controversial father, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Political enemies of both men are already playing connect-the-dots and decrying the younger Reid's announcement that he's running for governor as an ominous sign of a potential "Reid dynasty." (Someone neglected to tell those critics that being chairman of the Clark County Commission carries nearly as much clout as the office of the governor.)

His signs shout "Rory," not "Reid," followed by the slogan, "A new Economic Vision For Nevada."

Rory's challenge will be to make sure jaded residents don't write off his personal vision as a case of political double vision.

As Reid worked the TV cameras, it was easy to spot his allies from organized labor, members of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, and his friends from the Democratic Party. What wasn't in evidence, and isn't yet quantifiable, was whether the senator's son's candidacy was playing well with independents and nonpartisans.

Will they take time to separate his growing resume from his father's 40-year track record? Will they come to believe he really can be independent from the usual fixers and insiders who have grown fat on Nevada politics even as the working class has suffered from something akin to quality-of-life rickets?

Those who attempt to marginalize Rory Reid as simply the son of political privilege do so at their own peril. First, it underestimates his intellect and retail political skills. Second, sooner or later such rhetoric won't wash with Nevada voters who are not only sick of campaign noise, but also are hungry for real answers in hard times.

In other words, simple name-calling won't work. This Reid's chin is stronger than that. So is his ability to think on his feet.

Reid's real weakness will be found in the same soft spot possessed by all other candidates with experience on the Clark County Commission: their voting record. If Rory is really independent, it will show. If he's been overly friendly to his father's close friend, commission power-juicer Jay Brown, it will be there in the record.

At considerable political risk Reid has placed himself in the middle of budget, wage, and employee union battles as well as the fiscal quagmire that is the University Medical Center. He's fought to preserve UMC services amid a sea of red, but the sheer ugliness of the bottom-line numbers at the county hospital could hurt him.

To be taken seriously by voters, Reid must be perceived as the serious candidate. (By the way, serious doesn't mean humorless.) According to his nicely produced "The Virtual Crossroads: Rory Reid's Vision for the Future of Nevada," he's not only attempting to win a statewide race, but is also announcing his intention to drag Nevada kicking and screaming into a new age of plentiful green jobs, renewed infrastructure, and improved quality of life.

To do any of that he first must be viewed as more than the thoughtful son of a political powerhouse. The task is daunting. Nevada's unemployment rate is second only to Michigan. Gaming profits are down, down, down, and no elected official dares whisper about placing a higher tax on the state's absurdly profitable gold mines.

Does Rory Reid really think he has the right stuff to help Nevada off the canvas and get it back in the fight for economic prosperity?

Is he up to the task of turning the Silver State in a new and improved direction?

Then again, is anyone?

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.