Wealthy GOP candidate in Nevada’s U.S. Senate race

Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Bruce James, 54, a resident of Crystal Bay at Lake Tahoe since 1993, is the first declared candidate for the post that will be contested next year.

Reid, who first won the seat in November 1986, hasn't declared whether he'll seek a third six-year term.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., whose district takes up most of the Las Vegas Valley, also is a potential candidate but has said he won't make a formal decision until fall.

James is a self-described conservative who wants to transfer power from the federal government to the state and local communities.

He believes much of the land owned by the federal government in Nevada ought to be returned to the state and made available to private developers.

"We've allowed the federal government to control our destiny but it has not worked out on a variety of fronts," James said. "In order to become an equal player in America we have to recover our land."

James said he'll open a campaign office in Las Vegas within a month. He believes he'll need at least $6 million to win the seat, about double the amount Reid and fellow Sen. Dick Bryan, D-Nev., have spent in past elections. But James vows to have a campaign war chest exceeding $1 million by July 31.

The founder of Uniplan Corp., Barclays Law Publishers and Electrographic Corp. in San Francisco, James also created Nevada New-Tech Inc. to invest in businesses that "broaden and diversify Nevada's economy."

James said that he'll spend the next several months attempting to build his own name recognition statewide rather than criticize Reid.

Like the senator, James said he opposes any storage of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. He said the waste ought to be temporarily stored at the nuclear power plants where it is produced.

James also supports the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade that legalized certain abortions. But he shares Reid's opposition to the controversial partial-birth abortion procedure that was banned by Congress but preserved by President Clinton's veto.

However, James said he favors a balanced budget amendment while criticizing Reid's record on that issue. The senator has said he'll support the amendment only if it excludes Social Security, arguing that the federal budget shouldn't be balanced on the shoulders of seniors.

The challenger also said that while he favors decentralized government, Reid wants to keep power in the hands of the federal government.