2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Assembly District 19

Both candidates in the redrawn Assembly District 19 agree the changes handed them one big, diverse district and a tight race to go with it.

"Felipe and I, there's not 300 or 400 votes that separate us, as far as registered voters," Republican incumbent Cresent Hardy said of his Democratic opponent, Felipe Rodriguez.

Actually, Hardy is the one-term incumbent for only part of his new district. In 2010, he won 64 percent of the vote for then-District 20, which ran along the rural eastern side of the state from his hometown of Mesquite to Boulder City, Laughlin and Jean.

But the 10-year federal census mandated redistricting last year. The new District 19 still includes Mesquite, but added the urban, heavily Latino areas around Nellis Air Force Base.

Hardy questions whether the new lines preserve the judicial mandate of grouping "communities of interest."

"I think rural communities have different interests than urban type populations. ... but it is what it is," Hardy said.

"And when you run, you represent the whole state of Nevada; you don't just represent your constituents anyway. Anybody that tells you they're doing that, they're running for the wrong reasons. That's what causes pork barreling and problems like we've got in our federal government."

Rodriguez agreed, saying, "We all have different needs, different things that we're seeking in respect to where we are geographically."

But, Rodriguez said,, "the more doors that I knock on, and the more diverse we think this district is, one thing has become the common denominator in this election cycle: jobs, the economy, housing."

Hardy is a lifelong resident of Mesquite, and his ancestors were city founders.

Rodriguez is a 14-year resident of Southern Nevada, a Cuban whose family came to New York in 1967.

Hardy is a self-described conservative Republican who was on the Assembly's Ways and Means and Commerce and Labor committees. He said those "leadership responsibilities most freshmen don't get" gave him "the expertise and some experience to move forward."

Rodriguez is making his first run for public office. "Let's shake the tree; let's bring a new face to the political arena, some fresh blood. For lack of a better word, let's get away from the good old boys network."

Rodriguez's website lists support from police, firefighter and construction and trade unions, including the Southern Nevada Central Labor Council/AFL-CIO.

Hardy wants to change prevailing wage laws for unions, citing his own frustrations as an open-shop contractor.

"If the money went into the employees pocket I'm all for it, but it doesn't," Hardy said. "A lot of that money goes back into their (union) programs and doesn't go to the employee in the first place."

Rodriguez wants to pursue federal stimulus funding for green energy projects. "Nevada is the mecca, and it's sitting in the right place. ... Everything is in our favor. We have the wind, we have the sun."

Hardy said for his top issue of job creation, "the higher you increase taxes the less chance you have of creating those jobs. Businesses are going to the least point of resistance."

For education funding, Hardy favors school vouchers. "I think the voucher system provides the under economic class to be able to choose where they want to go, put their children in a spot where it might give them better opportunity."

Hardy called last year's legislative changes to teacher tenure laws "kind of a fallacy" because union contracts still protect low-achieving teachers.

Rodriguez wants to make sure education is fully funded but prioritizes student and teacher funding over administration and building programs.

"I personally think the administrative side of our educational system is too top-heavy."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.