Skeptics question Tea Party of Nevada

He's a Las Vegas businessman who owns an asphalt company and has real estate holdings. And he's a political newcomer.

Other than that, Scott Ashjian, the rumored U.S. Senate candidate for the newly formed Tea Party of Nevada, remains something of a mystery.

Ashjian is expected to file March 1 to run against U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican challenger in the November general election. But Ashjian has remained quiet about his campaign, giving cryptic e-mail interviews and hardly returning phone calls.

Barry Levinson, a lawyer, registered Democrat and secretary of the Tea Party of Nevada, said he "represents the candidate" and wants to help his longtime friend get elected.

However, representatives of the national tea party movement say Levinson's political affiliation raises red flags and that the group is working to reelect Sen. Harry Reid by dividing the conservative vote.

"That's not true," Levinson said. "(Ashjian's) in it to win."

National tea party organizations are distancing themselves from the local U.S. Senate campaign using the "tea party" banner.

The Tea Party of Nevada filed with the secretary of state in January to create a new political party, which aims to "promote this nation's founding principles of freedom, liberty and a small representative government."

However, the group has no known ties with national tea party organizations, which emerged to protest the government's $787 billion stimulus package. The groups usually support fiscal conservatism and are against taxation.

"I have never heard of him," said Judson Phillips of the Tea Party Nation, which will hold its second convention from July 15-17 in Las Vegas. "The tea party movement is very successful, and I'm not shocked that opportunists will try to use the movement."

Another group, the Tea Party Patriots, issued a statement last week to "make it clear that we are not associated with any attempts to form a third party."

The group said it believes voters should "demand appropriate reform within their own parties" rather than creating a new party.

"The mechanisms exist for citizens to participate in their parties and to drive their parties in the right direction."

new veto stamp ready

Everybody's getting ready for the upcoming special session of the Nevada Legislature, including Gov. Jim Gibbons.

"He has also ordered a new veto stamp," Gibbons spokesman Dan Burns said during a recent interview.

Gibbons' last veto stamp was sent to the Nevada State Museum after the governor used it a record 48 times during the 2009 regular session of the Legislature.

Although a new stamp is en route to Carson City, Burns says Gibbons is holding out hope collegiality will reign despite wrangling over how to cover a budget shortfall estimated at $881 million.

"There is such a spirit of cooperation that I'd be surprised if the veto stamp is needed," Burns said.

The session is scheduled to start Tuesday.

angle wins straw poll

Former Reno assembly­woman Sharron Angle won a straw poll of Clark County Republican Party members picking their favorite candidate to challenge Reid, D-Nev., in November.

Angle got 49 votes in the Jan. 19 poll, followed by Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian at 48 and former Nevada Republican Party chairwoman Sue Lowden at 46. Investment banker John Chachas and state Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, got three votes each.

The poll was taken during a meeting of party members in Nevada's most populous county.

The poll also asked party members whether they thought the Clark County Republican Party was doing a good job representing "political needs and wants" of party members, 65 said "yes," 79 said "no" and 54 didn't know. A similar question about the state party generated 38 "yes," 135 "no" and 30 "don't know" votes.

Republican likes democrats

Further, the Republican straw poll might add to the concern of Clark County GOP leaders who fear Democratic interlopers have infiltrated their group.

When asked whether Reid was doing a good job the vote was 179 "no" to one "yes." The same question for Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., was 192 "no" to one "yes" and for Democratic President Barack Obama it was 201 "no" and one "yes."

amnesty for tax scofflaws

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, called for the state to consider amnesty for tax scofflaws in an effort to collect unpaid taxes and reduce the state's estimated $881 million budget shortfall.

Buckley, during a meeting of the state's interim finance committee Thursday, made the proposal to Department of Taxation Executive Director Dino DiCianno.

She said a previous amnesty period generated $41 million in collections.

That kind of money could prevent cuts to Medicaid and programs that provide hearing aids and other services to senior citizens, she said.

"I think we should consider another amnesty. I would like to see you put together a plan," Buckley told DiCianno. "If we could obtain a similar amount of money or even half of it, it could avert a lot of pain for those who are most vulnerable."

DiCianno said it was a good idea, but added that all the money from the previous amnesty didn't go to the state.

Review-Journal writer Laura Myers contributed to this report. Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.