Jeff German: GOP presidential primary a disappointing experiment here

Thursday, March 28, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

NEVADA'S REPUBLICAN presidential primary turned out to be a ho-hum affair.

Even state party Chairman John Mason will make that concession.

Sen. Bob Dole won handily, but he barely garnered 50 percent of the vote across the state.

As it turned out, the primary came too late to have any meaningful effect on the race.

That contributed to the lighter-than-expected turnout, only 50 percent statewide, which was Mason's biggest disappointment.

"It didn't produce what I thought was the most important benefit of a mail-in primary, and that was a significantly higher voter participation," Mason says.

Still, Mason insists the primary was worthwhile and that he plans to work to improve the the mail-in concept.

"Everyone learned there are flaws in the mail-in ballot system," he says.

Indeed, the real story wasn't the election results, but the sideshow the balloting created.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Kathryn Ferguson is predicting the primary will cost taxpayers in Clark County alone the $200,000 the Legislature allocated last year for the statewide primary.

Thousands of ballots mailed here were returned to the Election Department because the addresses were no good.

Allegations of ballot tampering by Washoe County Registrar of Voters Brad Lawrence also undermined confidence.

Still, Mason says the experience was a good one for Nevada Republicans.

"It meant a lot to us in Nevada to be able to participate actively in the process," he says.

But overall, was it worth it to the taxpayers? That question likely will be debated by lawmakers in 1997.

* Republicans are putting their best spin on the mini-shakeup at the state GOP office.

Executive Director Chuck Muth says his resignation, effective April 12, was something "mutually agreed upon" by him and Chairman Mason.

"We're reorganizing for the campaign," Muth says.

He adds he's stepping aside to devote more time to voter registration and individual GOP campaigns, including perhaps his own bid against state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas.

"He's done a brilliant job, and he's had my support from day one," says Mason. "I think he's been an absolutely brilliant executive director who has taken the party to a higher level than it was before."

But some party regulars have suggested Mason wasn't all that excited about Muth's performance. There's talk that Muth's shoot-from-the-hip style may have created more problems than it solved.

Muth also was at the heart of a swirling controversy over the party's financial bookkeeping mess.

Leading up to his resignation, there even were reports that Ellen Mai, the party's respected finance director, had quit over a dispute with Muth.

Muth acknowledges having a disagreement with Mai and that she has been working outside the office the past two weeks.

But Mason insists she's still on board the GOP team.

"If there was a problem, it didn't rise to the level of my involvement," Mason says.

The Republican boss says he's lending his "full support" to Muth's possible race against Titus.

* Democrats, meanwhile, may have found someone who can defeat state Sen. Sue Lowden, R-Las Vegas.

Public relations executive Valerie Wiener, daughter of late attorney Louis Wiener Jr., is considering entering the race.

She'd first have to go up against ex-Assemblyman Lou Toomin in the Democratic primary.

Party regulars believe Wiener -- with her name recognition and support from Lowden's hated foe, the politically active Culinary Union -- would make an ideal Lowden opponent.

Democrats see Lowden as vulnerable this year.