2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Assembly District 14

The race for Assembly District 14 pits a sitting lawmaker against a political newcomer.

Maggie Carlton is running for her second term in the Assembly, which she joined in 2010 after 12 years as a state senator. She said her biggest accomplishment in office has been representing her neighborhood's residents.

"I have been the voice of my constituents, the working people and the retirees in my district," Carlton said. "They have a voice in what's going on in the state Legislature."

But Amy Groves said the district needs a fresh voice.

"We really need a change, and someone who has business sense, as opposed to someone who is going to be a long-term politician," Groves said. "My goal is not to become a politician. I'm not looking to change careers. I just think the Legislature needs fresh ideas, and I bring an outside-the-box perspective."

Each candidate has distinct priorities for the upcoming session.

Carlton called state Medicaid expansion under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act one of her biggest goals in 2013. In its June decision upholding health insurance reform, the Supreme Court left states to decide whether they would increase Medicaid-eligible populations by adjusting income qualifications. Carlton noted the federal government would pay for the first three years of expansion. No numbers are yet available on what Medicaid expansion would cost the state.

"It's important to get that done," she said. "We are one of the states with the highest number of uninsured. Everyone should have a primary doctor. Primary care creates a healthy community."

For Groves, job growth takes precedence over any other issue.

"I want to work on creating jobs," she said. "We need to not raise any taxes, and we need to make it more business-friendly so that companies are not paying more taxes. That way, they'll feel like it's OK to start hiring again. Every business I talk to doesn't want to hire because they don't know what their costs will be."

Each candidate also has different ideas on how to grapple with shrinking education budgets amid a weak economy.

Groves said she believes reforming education, such as allowing vouchers to help parents finance private education, would be a better alternative than raising taxes to increase funding.

Carlton said the issue of how to pay for education in a struggling economy is "a very complicated question. I'm not sure I can answer that."

However, she said she's on the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee, and suggested lawmakers may need to look at how funding is divided among counties and at-risk schools.

"It might be time to reevaluate money in the state," Carlton said. "We don't want to hurt other counties, but we need to look at where the need is and where the money should go."

Other priorities for Carlton include keeping the sage grouse from endangered status and to intervene if the city of North Las Vegas and Clark County can't agree to keep the Sloan Channel storm-water viaduct free of bugs that she said are overwhelming her constituents.

Groves wants to see more people get involved in improving the district.

"If I can be active, more people will be active with me," she said.

Carlton's Democrats enjoy a voter registration advantage of 3-to-1 in the district.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.