Friday, April 24, 1998 | 11:15 a.m.
Since he and his opponent haven't gotten off to the best start, Republican gubernatorial candidate Aaron Russo extended his hand to Kenny Guinn on Friday, and then said it marked the beginning of a civilized race.
"This governor's race can't become a grudge match," Russo said during a rousing address to the state Republican Convention luncheon.
His supporters whooped and hollered "RU-SSO, RU-SSO" throughout his talk, which focused mainly on tax issues and getting rid of big government.
Russo's meeting with his opponent was relatively calm compared to last month's Clark County Republican Convention, where Russo and his supporters were threatened with arrest after shouting down party officials.
The convention became so chaotic that Guinn, the front-runner in the governor's race, refused to attend and never delivered a speech as planned.
Russo accused Guinn of trying to buy convention delegates because Guinn paid $12,000 to cover convention registration fees for 480 supporters.
On Friday, Russo said there was no need for he and Guinn to be rude to one another, and then the two shook hands at Russo's request.
"This race is about ethics, values and the meaning of being a Republican," Russo said.
Russo, who moved to Nevada in 1996 to run for governor, said Nevada must have a governor who will take the nuclear waste dump issue all the way to the Supreme Court. Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the only site for storing the nation's nuclear waste now being considered by the Energy Department.
He also said that as governor, he would eliminate private taxes on vehicles and wouldn't allow free lunches to be taxed. The IRS wants to tax free meals now provided to hotel employees.
After his speech, Russo blew kisses to the convention delegates.
Russo had recently sued his own party in District Court because he said it was discouraging participation at the convention by charging unreasonably high registration fees. The lawsuit asked the court to lower the fee from a maximum of $150 to $20, but the court dismissed the suit.
As Guinn began his speech, Russo waved his hands in the air, encouraging his supporters to cheer for Guinn as well.
Guinn said that if elected, he would create a program for domestic abuse prevention and raise the standards in Nevada schools. He suggested rewarding good teachers with money.
"Nevada rewards those who reward our children. It's going the extra mile," he said.
Guinn, a former educator, banker and utility executive, said government and parents must have more accountability. He said parents should be held responsible for their childrens' actions.
"The Ten Commandments aren't just suggestions, they're what we live by."
Russo also briefly spoke about the GOP's "paycheck protection" plan to protect workers from forced and unauthorized political contributions from their paychecks.
Last week, Russo was expected to defend the proposal at a forum in Las Vegas, but decided after listening to arguments for about an hour that he was uncertain whether the workers' rights initiative is necessary.
But on Friday, Russo said, "We must defend our Republican leadership in every possible way and make certain that this initiative is passed.
"We must no longer allow union officials to donate these funds to the Democratic Party," he said.
Union supporters insist the initiative is designed to weaken unions' political activity.
If it passes, it would amend Nevada's constitution and require that union members give annual written authorization before their employers could deduct dues for political contributions.
Guinn opposes the proposal.
"Republicans should stand for the rights of workers, not kowtow to union officials," J. Patrick Rooney, an Indianapolis insurance tycoon, said in prepared remarks for his Friday night speech at the convention.
Rooney is chair of a California ballot drive to restrict the political use of union dues.
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