Guinn files for governor’s race, defends pension

Thursday, May 14, 1998 | 10:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- If elected governor, Kenny Guinn wouldn't have any problem with his administration regulating the utility industry while he receives a big pension check from Southwest Gas.

The front-running GOP candidate said he has divested himself of everything from Southwest Gas. But he said he is entitled to the retirement benefit and saw no conflict in appointing people to regulate the Las Vegas-based utility.

"I worked for that," Guinn said. "I'm entitled to that. A lot of that money is my own deferred compensation."

His retirement benefits come from the shareholders and not ratepayer dollars, he told reporters as he filed for the office of governor Wednesday.

"Your retirement fund is your retirement fund," he said.

Guinn used the occasion of filing for office to outline some of the issues he supports.

Nevada residents want less government and less regulation, Guinn said, including the utility industry, which he sees as moving away from regulation and toward competition.

Nonetheless, Guinn said he still wants the state Public Utilities Commission to protect consumers from companies that might move into the state, take money from the customers and then not be able to deliver services as promised.

Guinn also said he opposes the "payroll protection" plan favored by GOP leaders to require union workers to sign permission every year to have part of their dues used for political purposes. He said government should not be intruding in that area.

Guinn sidestepped the tax question. If elected, he said, he would first have to look at the budgets and tax revenues to judge if the state was receiving adequate funding. If more money is needed, he said he would try to trim budgets and become more efficient before raising taxes.

He added he would look at the state's overall tax structure, rather than to any particular industry. Sen. Joe Neal, D-Las Vegas, the Democratic front-runner in the gubernatorial race, wants to boost the gaming tax by 2 percent to bring in an additional $100 million to the state's coffers.

Neal also criticized Guinn for taking millions from the gaming industry for his campaign. But Guinn said of the $3 million he's raised, only 31.8 percent comes from casinos or gaming executives.

He said he's spent the past 25 months forming a grass-roots campaign with a 20-member staff, touring the state with 12 visits to the Minden-Gardnerville area, seven to Fallon, three to Lovelock and other rural areas. He hasn't been on television and only recently has put up some billboards.

Guinn's three top priorities are education, making government accountable and helping senior citizens with such things as affordable housing. He noted he has already pledged to spend $3 million to double property tax rebates to the elderly.

On other issues, he said he was 100 percent against Yucca Mountain, the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and does not favor collective bargaining for state employees.

Wages of state workers are anywhere from 18-22 percent behind local government mainly in the lower-paying jobs, he said. He wants to correct the disparity, but he could not do it all at once because of limited revenues.

Guinn, an interim president at UNLV for one year, declined to say whether he felt the budget request for a 35 percent increase by the University and Community College System was too much.

In other races, Patrick Fitzpatrick, 69, filed for the Democratic nomination for governor. Fitzpatrick, who ran unsuccessfully for treasurer and U.S. Senate as a Democrat and for Congress and secretary of state as a Republican, says he thinks Neal has committed "political suicide" by advocating higher taxes for the gaming industry.

Fitzpatrick, of Silver Springs, said he thinks casinos could afford to pay more taxes, but he's running for the state's top office to change the Medicaid system which forced his wife into the state mental hospital where he doesn't have visiting privileges.

Fifteen people filed for office in Clark County, including three candidates for the District 16 Assembly seat that Democrat Dario Herrera has given up to run for the District G County Commission seat being vacated by Lorraine Hunt to run for lieutenant governor.

Democrat Chuck Gardner, a former deputy attorney general for the state Ethics Commission, filed for Herrera's seat, along with Republicans Stefan Steel and John E. Kraft. Steel, who ran unsuccessfully against Herrera in 1996, is married to Family Court Judge Dianne Steel, who held the seat prior to Herrera.

Bill Robinson, a Republican, filed to run for the District 42 Assembly seat held by Democrat Harry Mortenson, a nuclear physicist who filed for re-election earlier this week. And Republican Jim Forte filed for the District 15 Assembly seat fellow Republican Jack Close is giving up to run for state Senate.

Independent candidate Lucille Lusk filed for state Assembly District 2. Republican Merle Berman is seeking re-election.

Sandy Valley resident Jim Slankard, a Democrat, signed up to create a three-way primary for incumbent County Commissioner Erin Kenny in District F. Frank Boehnlein of Goodsprings also has filed as a Democrat for that seat.

Ernie Freggiaro became the second Republican to vy for Hunt's commission seat, following Milt Doyle's candidate filing Tuesday.

Michael John Verrill, a Democrat, filed for the Las Vegas Constable seat Bob Nolen is stepping down from and Byron Goynes, the son of North Las Vegas Councilman Theron Goynes, filed for the County Clerk seat being vacated by Loretta Bowman. Democrat Art Lane also filed for that race.

Republican Richard Bell -- who ran an unsuccessful bid in 1996 to unseat Commissioner Bruce Woodbury -- filed for the County Treasurer seat. So did Laura Fitzpatrick, a Democrat who was appointed by the County Commission to finish out the term of Mark Aston, who resigned following his embezzlement conviction for stealing money from a state professional organization.