Editorial: Don’t play politics with growth

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 1997 | 12:05 p.m.

Schwartz said in a fund-raising letter that Democrats have been "slow to recognize the problems and unable to provide solutions."

The rationale, according to Republican spokesman Dan Burdish, is that Democrats hold a 4-3 majority on the County Commission -- and therefore deserve the blame.

That thinking is out of whack. The County Commission is one of many local governments responsible for controlling growth.

Besides that, it makes no sense for the Republican Party to begin posturing itself as the defender of a slow-growth philosophy. Republicans, urged on by their pro-business boosters, traditionally carry a growth-is-good banner into political battle.

Schwartz' letter also sidesteps the facts.

Elected officials of both parties have been afraid to clamp down on growth because they don't want to anger the casino owners and developers who fund campaigns.

That trend only began to shift after recent university and media polls showed that an overwhelming majority of respondents think Las Vegas is growing too fast.

Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, whom Schwartz inaccurately named in a list of Democratic do-nothings, is an example of that.

During the 1997 Legislature, which ended last month, Titus grabbed headlines by proposing no-growth boundaries around Las Vegas.

The plan was flawed and died in committee, but Titus demonstrated to less media-savvy politicians that growth is a hot topic and can cast those on the right side of the issue in a warm political glow.

Thus Schwartz's letter.

With the 1998 election already beginning to take shape, Schwartz wants to reshape the image of the Republican Party, which most voters associate with a pro-growth stance.

If polls are an accurate indication, slow-growth candidates will win in 1998 -- and Republicans know that.

The problem is that Schwartz, in trying to nudge his party closer to the popular side of the season's most heated issue, came across as opportunistic and got himself burned.