Term limits and incumbent losses will put new faces in Legislature

CARSON CITY -- With the defeat of four legislators in Tuesday's primaries, term limits going into effect for the first time and lawmakers quitting in the middle of their terms, many of the 2011 state legislators won't be recognizable even to the janitors.

Almost half of the 63 seats at the legislative session that starts in February will be filled by newcomers.

At least nine of the 21 senators and 19 of the 42 Assembly members will be replaced.

Not since the 1967 session have there been 28 changes in the Legislature's makeup.

Who fills the seats will be important to Nevada residents and each party because the 2011 session could be one of the most contentious in history. Legislators will grapple with a budget some estimate will be $3.4 billion short of the state's needs.

Democrats hold a 12-9 lead in the Senate. Picking up two seats would give them a supermajority, which is necessary to pass any tax increases and to override the governor's vetoes.

At the same, the 2011 session is one in which legislators will redraw boundaries of their districts to reflect population changes shown by the 2010 census. The party in power typically can draw boundaries to give its members advantages in elections over the next 10 years.

Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, said voters are tired of partisan squabbling and want Republicans and Democrats to work together.

There are fair-minded people on both sides," said Manendo, who won the Democratic primary for the Senate District 2 seat. "I don't think it is absolutely necessary for us to pick up two seats. If you have good policy, both parties will come together."

Seven of the potential newcomers in the Senate are Assembly members trying to change houses. If they win, they will not be legislative freshmen.

And term-limited Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, won a primary for an Assembly seat.

More changes might be coming in the November general election.

Republican Elizabeth Halseth knocked over incumbent Sen. Dennis Nolan of Las Vegas in the Republican primary, but now she must get by well-funded Democrat Benny Yerushalmi in District 9 where Democrats have a solid lead.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, faces a formidable opponent in Democrat Tammy Peterson in District 8, where Democrats now are the majority party.

But Republicans anticipate Michael Roberson can beat Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, in District 5, although Democrats hold a 2,000 voter advantage.

"The Democrats want this seat in November," Halseth said. "Voters will have a clear choice. They are tired of tax increases."

Yerushalmi -- a native Las Vegan born to Israeli parents who moved to the United States -- said it would not be fair for Halseth to characterize him as a tax-and-spend liberal.

"I would say my approach is that of a small-business owner," said Yerushalmi, a jewelry store owner. "It's the same approach people apply in their homes. We need to look at how we spend money and cut the things we can. If state programs are critical, then legislators need to look at how they can properly fund them."

Democrats have a 28-14 veto-proof majority in the Assembly, but they will be hard-pressed to keep that margin.

Longtime Carson City Supervisor Pete Livermore, a Republican, could take the Assembly District 40 seat that has been held by retiring Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City. Republicans have a solid lead in registration.

Democrats were handed a golden opportunity to pick up the Assembly District 13 seat held by Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas.

Christensen left the Assembly and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. That gives Democrat Louis Desalvio a chance to win his Assembly seat because District 13 is now mostly Democratic.

Other incumbents to lose were Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, who was defeated in the Senate District 7 primary by Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas; and Assemblyman Ty Cobb, R-Reno, who lost the Washoe Senate District 4 primary battle to Republican Ben Kieckhefer, the former press secretary of Gov. Jim Gibbons.

McClain and Manendo both were prevented from seeking additional terms in the Assembly under the term-limits constitutional amendment.

The amendment restricts legislators to 12 years in one house but allows them to run for the other house. Seven senators and 10 Assembly members were barred from seeking terms in their houses by the term-limits law. Five more senators will be blocked from running again because of term limits in 2012.

There was a special reason for the large turnover at the Legislature in 1967. That was the first year that the Senate districts were based on population.

Previously there had been one senator for every county in Nevada. The U.S. Supreme Court's one-man, one-vote decision required populations of all districts to be nearly as equal in population as possible. Now Clark County residents hold 14 of the 21 Senate seats.

Manendo and Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, got around the term-limits law by running for Senate seats.

Term-limited Sen. Maggie Carlton went the other way by winning the Democrat primary for the Assembly District 14 seat.

Four other Assembly members who were not term-limited also hope to take Senate seats.

Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, is a candidate for the Senate District 10 seat, while Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, won the Senate District 12 Republican primary.

In Northern Nevada, Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, won the Republican primary for the Washoe District 2 Senate seat and Assemblyman James Settelmeyer, R-Gardnerville, took the Republican primary for the Senate seat in the Capitol area.

Assemblyman Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, didn't lose any sleep Tuesday night. Because he drew no opposition, Denis essentially has won the Senate District 2 seat.

The 2011 Legislature also could be memorable because of an expected increase in Hispanic members.

Term-limited Sen. Bob Coffin, whose mother was Hispanic, was the only Hispanic senator. Denis and possibly Kihuen will be Hispanic members at the 2011 session.

In the Assembly, as many as five Hispanics might be elected. They include Miss Nevada 2002 Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a Democrat, in District 27 in Reno.

A familiar name could return to the Legislature in 2011. Dina Neal, the daughter of retired Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, won the Democratic primary in Assembly District 7. Her father served 32 years as a state senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 2002.

Former Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, served only in the 1997 session, but he is bidding to return. Hickey emerged victorious Tuesday in the Republican primary for Assembly District 25 in Reno.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@ reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.