Reno attorney looks at challenging Reid

A Reno attorney with a "commitment to injustice" is the latest to float his name as a possible Republican opponent to Sen. Harry Reid.

Chuck Kozak has formed an exploratory committee and hired consultants to feel out his possible candidacy. A campaign flier he's circulating describes him as "a lifelong Republican, a distinguished attorney, an accomplished athlete, a proud veteran and a patriotic American."

Kozak, 66, moved to Nevada in 2005. He lives in Reno with his wife of 44 years, a retired teacher, and three rescue dogs. His legal career was spent with the U.S. Marine Corps and in Hawaii and California.

According to Kozak's campaign flier, "Because of Chuck's commitment to injustice, as the Principal of his own firm, Chuck participated in litigation which resulted in the landmark case, 'Doe v. Cutter,' as well as a $600 million dollar class action settlement."

The case, in which hemophiliacs claimed they had been infected with AIDS by a clotting medication, was featured on "60 Minutes," according to the flier.

Kozak is unknown in Republican political circles in Nevada. Sources say he would be able to put his own money into the race, always a plus. In recent months he has been to Washington, D.C., to talk to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and he's doing some polling to gauge his chances.

"I'm sure it's what I want to do; it's just a question of whether we can get the support we need," Kozak said in a brief interview. "I think Nevadans need a change in philosophy from what we have right now with Senator Reid," particularly "a little more fiscal conservatism."

The GOP operatives who are desperate to recruit a strong candidate against the unpopular Reid regard Kozak as one of a pool of second-choice candidates if Rep. Dean Heller decides against running for the seat. Heller is said to be keeping his options open but waiting to evaluate the fallout of Sen. John Ensign's sex scandal.

Also in that pool: former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, who says she is preparing to announce she's in the race; New York banker John Chachas, said to be close to a decision to run; and state Sen. Mark Amodei, who's flirting with the idea with questionable seriousness.

"Chuck Kozak and Harry Reid could not be more different," Kozak's flier proclaims. "Harry Reid believes that America needs to be saved by Washington -- by higher taxes, more regulation and a greater role for the federal government in all matters. Chuck believes America must be saved from Washington -- from all the grand plans of Harry Reid."

Reid's campaign manager Brandon Hall said whoever the opponent ends up being, Reid will be prepared.

"Senator Reid continues to focus on using his leadership position to deliver for Nevada," Hall said. "However, Senator Reid has always said he is ready to run an aggressive campaign against whoever decides to run."

PRIMARY COLORS

Last year's Nevada Democratic caucuses were so much fun, state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford wants to make sure the state gets to do it again.

Horsford, whom Harry Reid likes to refer to as "the other majority leader," is a member of the Democratic Change Commission, the panel charged by the Democratic National Committee with fixing the primary process that led to so much chaos in 2008. The commission had its first meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 27.

"I think it's important that Nevada keeps its position as a 'pre-window' state," Horsford said. "That's what I'm working to ensure happens" as a member of the 30-person commission.

The June 27 meeting was largely informational, he said, with presentations from President Barack Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, and the campaign's delegate guru, Jeff Berman. Commission members also heard about the history of the nomination process and its workings.

The commission will meet again in August and then twice more, working to formulate a set of recommendations to submit to the DNC. At the next meeting, Horsford hopes to have Nevadans testify before the group about the state's caucus experience.

"Our plan is to have our initial report done and presented to the president and the DNC by the end of this year or the beginning of next year."

The commission's assigned task is threefold: to change the window during which primaries and caucuses are held, pushing it later in the year; to reduce the role of superdelegates, whose influence was decried as elitist in 2008; and to streamline and improve the caucus process in states that hold caucuses rather than primaries.

On the schedule issue, the commission is working with the Republican National Committee, hoping to coordinate a shorter nominating timetable than last year's, which kicked off in Iowa on Jan. 3 after more than a year of campaigning.

The 118,000 Nevadans who participated in the Jan. 19, 2008, Democratic caucuses exceeded the party's wildest expectations. Though Hillary Clinton's Nevada win didn't pave the way to the nomination, the caucus participation laid the groundwork for a robust party organization that helped Obama win the state by 12 percentage points and is still in place.

"It was the best party-building effort in the party's history," Horsford said. "We registered 40,000 new Democrats in 90 minutes. We were successful in literally building the grass-roots movement that is still being sustained; training and identifying people who want to be involved in the process at every level; and we won the White House, flipped the state Senate, and made gains" across the state, including rural and Northern Nevada.

There were plenty of complaints about the arcane caucus process -- its complexity, its allotment of votes, its barriers to participation by anyone who couldn't spare several hours on a Saturday morning. Horsford said all those issues should be examined. But he supports sticking with a caucus rather than an election-style primary, which would cost the state millions and wouldn't bring people together in person.

"The neighborhood interaction that takes place through a caucus helps to connect communities and individuals," Horsford said. "It's a successful model, though there are areas that can be improved."

RAISING DOUGH

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Montandon, who kicked off his campaign last week, has fallen short of his goal of raising $1 million by now, he said.

Montandon wouldn't say how much he has in his campaign account, which he doesn't have to disclose formally until January.

"We're not at $1 million, but it's in the hundreds and hundreds of thousands," Montandon said Tuesday. The $1 million mark, he said, is "not far off," and the campaign expects to reach it soon.

The Montandon gubernatorial campaign's only disclosure to date, in January 2009, showed just $20,000 in donations, a paltry sum that led some observers to question the campaign's seriousness and viability. Of the $20,000, $15,000 was transferred from Montandon's mayoral campaign account and his political action committee.

Under Nevada's campaign finance disclosure laws, contribution reports are few and far between and don't come close to giving a full picture. It's virtually impossible to tell from the reports filed how much cash on hand candidates really have.

Sources say in addition to his mayoral account, Montandon is sitting on quite a pile in his PAC fund.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.