Campaign ‘98 ruled by tranquility so far

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998 | 11:06 a.m.

Growth, taxes, education and health care are all topics that have the potential to dominate the 1998 elections in what has been a relatively tame campaign season so far.

UNLV professor Craig Walton, who teaches ethics and public policy, said there are plenty of growth-related issues in Southern Nevada to choose from. He just doesn't know whether any candidate will be willing to tackle those issues head on.

"There isn't any zoning here," Walton said. "We have over 200 planning professionals in the valley, but they're overridden all the time. The zoning laws are chaotic and master plans are a joke.

"The politicians also aren't directly addressing the issues of corruption in government. A lot of them seem to be for sale."

The relative calm of campaigns leading up to the primaries hasn't escaped the notice of UNLV political science professor Jerry Simich.

"In the legislative races there doesn't seem to be a lot of heat being generated," Simich said. "Several legislators are saying, 'Where are the issues?' It's conventional wisdom that when the economy is going well, people don't get too aroused.

"In the governor's race the issue is whether certain gubernatorial candidates are going to represent the public or powerful economic interests in the valley."

Democratic and Republican leaders argued, however, that their candidates care about a variety of issues that they believe will carry them to victory. Both Paul Henry, chairman of the Nevada Democratic Party, and Dan Burdish, executive director of the Nevada Republican Party, believe education will be a key issue.

"Look at the agenda of (Democratic) Gov. Bob Miller, when he boldly stated he wanted class-size reductions," Henry said. "The Democratic legislators supported that wholeheartedly, but the Republicans attacked him for that."

Burdish countered that the GOP can win by advocating such programs as tax-supported vouchers to pay for school choice, and tax-free interest-bearing savings accounts for private schools and higher education.

"The public school system right now is not working," Burdish said. "Nationally, 25 percent of the kids who graduate from high school can't read."

Special interest groups such as the gaming industry and organized labor also have their agendas and will support candidates accordingly.

Harvey Whittemore, Reno-based lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, said casinos are prepared to fight against higher gaming taxes "at a time when the industry isn't doing too well in Nevada."

"If gaming institutions fail, you get unemployment concerns," he said.

Instead, the gaming industry is backing the proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase on the November general election ballot to help pay for $3 billion in water and sewer system improvements in Clark County. Whittemore said that if the tax measure fails, the revenue will have to come from higher water rates and hookup fees.

Organized labor will push for collective bargaining for state employees to make their salaries and benefits more comparable with those of county and municipal workers, said Claude "Blackie" Evans, executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada AFL-CIO. The unions also will seek expanded worker's compensation benefits that take pre-existing conditions into account, he said.

"Nowadays, it always seems like we're fighting bad legislation," Evans said.

A leading federal issue that could influence Nevada voters is the battle between congressional Democrats and Republicans over the rights of consumers in managed health care plans. Both sides claim to have the best way of improving access to health care while holding down costs.

"Republicans come down on the side of health maintenance organizations, while Democrats come down on the side of patients' rights," Henry said.

Burdish said legislation favored by Republicans actually contains many of the elements of a Nevada law authored last year by Democratic Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley of Las Vegas.

"I don't know that we have a big problem with HMOs in this state, so I don't know if it will be a big local issue," Burdish said.

Taxation is an issue Burdish said is a winner for Republicans. The GOP wants to eliminate the marriage penalty tax and lower capital gains taxes.

But Henry said he believes Democratic candidates are more supportive of environmental issues and will benefit from the nation's strong economy.

The gaming industry has national issues such as the potential for federal regulation and the spread of Indian casinos. But Nevada's congressional delegation, regardless of party affiliation, usually acts in unison to protect the industry's interests. That's why gaming issues rarely creep into Nevada's congressional campaigns.

In contrast, there's always a union issue that proves divisive in local congressional races. Evans said he's worried that congressional Republicans will revive previously unsuccessful attempts to institute a paycheck protection plan, forcing unions to get permission from members to spend their dues on political campaigns.

An effort by Nevada Republicans to put that issue on the statewide ballot was declared unconstitutional earlier this year by Clark County Chief District Judge Myron Leavitt.

Ultimately, Simich wondered aloud whether certain issues politicians ought to talk about will actually come out in the campaigns. His example is the concern many Southern Nevada residents have over the pace of highway construction in the valley. He cited the example of a stretch of Rainbow Boulevard near Blue Diamond Road.

"That's a dangerous two-lane road," Simich said. "I don't think we should wait for the developments to be in place before we improve roads."

Fellow academician Walton said voters will flock to the polls if they believe it will make a difference in their lives.

"When there is proof of impact, people will take part in the political process," Walton said. "There is a civic spirit here.

"I'm concerned that the issues that people seem to get worried about, such as what's happening in our valley, are not being discussed politically. This obviously goes to the issue of the kind of people being prepared for office. All the big campaign dollars go to the spin meisters, but the spin meisters don't know any of us."