Showdown between powerful female candidates shaping up in Senate District 3

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Valerie Wiener's victory in the Democratic primary in state Senate District 3 sets up a rare general election showdown between two high-powered women.

With 30 of 76 precincts reporting, Wiener was easily ahead of fellow Democrats Lou Toomin and Dr. Juan Manzur in Tuesday's primary for the right to do battle on Nov. 5 with freshman Sen. Sue Lowden, R-Las Vegas. Wiener garnered 76.8 percent of the vote, compared to 17.7 percent for Toomin and 5.5 percent for Manzur.

A 47-year-old author who runs Wiener Communications Group, Wiener specializes in media relations and governmental affairs. She was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, as part of a "dream team" of Democrats Titus hopes will win back control of the upper legislative chamber.

But Titus' involvement in this race drew the ire of Toomin, a former assemblyman who battled with the senator when he served in the 1993 Legislature. Toomin charged that Titus was trying to divide the party by backing Wiener, but the senator said she felt Wiener had the best chance of defeating Lowden.

Wiener said Tuesday that the district's residents care most about personal safety, health care and wages high enough to support a family. But she said she doesn't yet know which issues will most sharply define her campaign from that of Lowden.

"We need to give children choices so they don't go into gangs," Wiener said. "Independent living issues for seniors are also important. If there's opportunity for people to spend longer periods of time in their homes, that would be great."

Lowden, co-owner of the Santa Fe hotel-casino with husband Paul, chairs the Senate Taxation Committee. She is a close ally of Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, the state's most powerful legislator.

But Lowden also is the No. 1 target of the Culinary Union, the largest labor organization in Las Vegas. The union, which represents hotel workers, wants to replace Lowden because her casino has fought efforts by employees to organize there.

It also helps Wiener that there are about 8,000 more registered Democrats in the district. Natural Law candidate Janice Williams also is in the November race, but third-party candidates generally have struggled for votes in legislative contests.

Although Lowden is vulnerable, the Democrats have their work cut out for them if they hope to gain control of the state Senate. The Republicans hold a commanding 13-8 edge in the Legislature's upper chamber. If the GOP remains in the majority after November, they could make life miserable for the last two years of Democratic Gov. Bob Miller's administration.

In other races, District 4 Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, a six-term incumbent, was defeating fellow Democrat Geraldine Lewis 56.6 percent to 43.4 percent with half the precincts tallied. Neal, a 61-year-old retiree who worked at Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Co., will face Republican David Wallace in the Nov. 5 general election.

With more than one-third of the precincts in, three-term District 5 Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, the only other Senate incumbent from Clark County involved in a primary, was beating back fellow GOP challenger Sam Bledsoe 72.3 percent to 27.7 percent. O'Connell, a 61-year-old owner of Christian book stores and a small downtown hotel, will compete against Democrat Steve Sisolak and Libertarian Tim Hagan in the general election.

O'Connell, chairwoman of the Senate Government Affairs Committee, prides herself as a tax-fighter who has done more than any other senator to slash spending. But she filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1993 and could be in for a rough general election battle as she must defend her personal financial problems.

In District 2, Republican Terry Holtz of Las Vegas was beating fellow GOP candidate Tino Mendoza 76.5 percent to 23.5 percent with almost half the votes in for the right to run against three-term incumbent Sen. Ray Shaffer, D-Las Vegas, in the fall.

In early results, Democrat Daryl Nakamura was topping Democratic challenger Clay Baty, also of Las Vegas, by a margin of 57.3 percent to 42.7 percent. Nakamura, a 37-year-old casino bingo operations director and member of "Team Titus," will attempt to oust three-term incumbent Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, in November.

Seven state Senate positions from Clark County -- representing one-third of the upper house -- will be up for grabs in November. Each seat carries a four-year term.