Sandoval: Key to state budget fiscal restraint

Polls showed that former U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval had become the front-runner in the governor's race without declaring his candidacy for office or articulating a solution to Nevada's budget woes.

But since officially entering the race late Tuesday, Sandoval has faced criticism and pressure from his opponents to detail exactly what he would do should he be elected as Nevada's chief executive at a time of budgetary crisis.

Projections from Carson City on Wednesday indicate that by 2011, revenue will be approximately $2.4 billion short of balancing what is currently a $6.9 billion general fund budget.

Sandoval, a longtime Reno resident who was in Las Vegas on Wednesday for a whirlwind round of interviews, said his desire is to avoid tax increases and use fiscal restraint to close the gap between state government expenses and projected revenues.

"I think the government should do like all Nevada families are doing, which is to do more with less," said Sandoval, who opposes raising taxes during a recession.

He also believes that "government has to be fiscally responsible, that there are no sacred cows and if there are programs that aren't working, they have to be under the microscope."

During a 25-minute interview with the Review-Journal, the 46-year-old Sandoval flashed frequent smiles, spoke about creating jobs and fielded questions about the state's fiscal woes.

Sandoval, who gave up a lifetime appointment as a federal judge to run for governor, cited his tenure from 2003 to 2005 as the state's attorney general as an example of how he would lead the state.

"We didn't fill positions. We had to make priorities in programs at the attorney general's office. I even cut my own pay. I can't remember what it was. It was less than 10 percent. It was between 5 and 10 percent," he said. "I felt that if everyone else was going to have to take a cut, so would I."

Whether Sandoval, or any candidate, can flip the state's upside-down financial projections from red to black with a budget scalpel alone remains to be seen.

Some doubt that cuts alone will do the trick.

"I guess what he is proposing is he wants to fire people," said Keith Schwer, director of The Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "How many firemen and how many policemen does he want to fire? How many children are not going to have a teacher in front of them?

"Those are the decisions that go with that."

Schwer compared today's economic malaise to that of the Great Depression in the 1930s, a time when governments created new taxes in response to joblessness and shrinking revenue.

Cutting taxes, particularly if cuts prompt public sector layoffs, could exacerbate unemployment woes, Schwer said.

"It doesn't matter if it is a private- or public-sector job, laying off people is going to drive the unemployment rate up," he said.

Polls taken before Sandoval officially entered the race showed likely voters preferred him to all other contenders.

On the Republican side, Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found that in August, 33 percent of likely primary voters favored Sandoval, 17 percent chose incumbent Jim Gibbons, 3 percent chose former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, and 1 percent favored former state Sen. Joe Heck.

In a theoretical general election match, polling showed Sandoval outmatching Democratic candidate Rory Reid 49 percent to 32 percent.

Now that Sandoval is an official candidate, those numbers could change as he's targeted for criticism from other hopefuls looking to take the shine off the leader.

Montandon on Wednesday took a shot at Sandoval's statement to a Reno newspaper that political consultants Pete Ernaut and Greg Ferraro approached him during the summer about challenging Gibbons.

"He was very blatant that lobbyists are running the show," Montandon said.

Heck criticized Sandoval for overly general responses to questions seeking precise answers about how to keep state revenue and expenses balanced.

"I find it interesting somebody would get into the governor's race and not be ready to address the issues plaguing Nevada," Heck said. "We knew where we were on the issues when we announced as a candidate."

Reid says he plans a candidate publicity blitz with more substance than Sandoval's introductory tour.

"When I do, I will be much more specific than Brian was in the last 24 hours," Reid said.

For his part, Sandoval came off as a candidate eager to weather the chaos of a crowded, statewide campaign.

"This is just something that, at the end of the day, I wanted to try and make a positive difference for the state of Nevada," he said. "It is a big risk. I want people to know that my willingness to give up a lifetime appointment is in direct proportion with my commitment to the state."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.