Democrats rally before hitting trail

Adrienne Packer

Monday, May 18, 1998 | 9:43 a.m.

Marching bands belted out patriotic tunes and delegates offered standing ovations as Democrats statewide gathered in Las Vegas for one last hurrah before candidates scatter and hit the campaign trails.

They took their shots at Republicans and saluted one another at the weekend-long state Democratic Convention at Bally's.

"The Republican Party is having a very difficult time," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. "They are torn between right wing and reckless."

Reid, who is running for another six-year term, blasted Republican opponent John Ensign for suggesting he was a socialist for trying to protect the environment.

"That is reckless," Reid said. The senator leads Ensign by a wide margin, according to a recent poll conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates.

"I think protecting our natural resources and the health and safety of the public is not only a state difference between our parties, but a national difference," he said.

Reid said the Democratic Party is in good shape. He read a recent poll indicating that 63 percent of Americans believe the Republican Party ignores them and takes them for granted, while 50 percent feel the Democrats reach out to them. He rallied Democrats to support what he described as a strong state ticket with Shelley Berkley running for Congress, Rose McKinney-James vying for lieutenant governor, Frankie Sue Del Papa trying to keep her job as attorney general and Mary Sanada running for state controller.

He failed to mention Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Joe Neal, saying only: "Who knows ... there's another day of filing."

There is speculation that Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones may jump into the race for governor. Jones, who was out of town Saturday, has until this afternoon to file for candidacy. State Sen. Mike Schneider is also considering running.

Many Democrats say Jones, who lost in a primary to Gov. Bob Miller in 1994, would have a better chance at beating Republican front-runner Kenny Guinn than Neal, who is now the party's strongest candidate.

Neal emerged from a crowd of delegates who were chanting "Joe" to reiterate his goal of making the casino industry pay higher taxes. He also defended his position on nuclear waste, which he said has been misunderstood.

Some Nevada residents have knocked Neal for not being more strongly opposed to nuclear waste being buried in the state. But Neal said he feels if the state receives the waste, it should be paid for it.

"I have not said we should campaign to bring waste here; I have not made that statement," Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said. "If waste is going to come here, we must be paid for it."

Candidates and union leaders were cheered as they each took shots at the Republicans' proposed Paycheck Protection Act. The plan would prohibit unions from making political donations without membership approval.

Danny Thompson, a Nevada State AFL-CIO official, said the act is unfair because it requires an employee who may be trying to oust his boss to get permission from the boss before contributing money to a campaign.

"That is un-American," Thompson said. "It's not about Democrats or Republicans. It's about shutting up the only group of people left with the money and organization and ability to stand up against people like (Venetian megaresort owner) Sheldon Adelson."

"This has nothing to do with protecting working men and women," Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., told delegates. "It's a thinly veiled attempt to disenfranchise working men and women."

Education was another hot topic at the convention.

Del Papa said that nearly 10 percent of students of high-school age in Nevada are dropouts and that more than 10 percent of the homeless population in the state are children.

"It's cheaper to support education on the front end than it is to support the criminal-justice system on the back end," she said.

McKinney-James and Berkley emphasized the need to improve the state's educational system by offering more classroom space in public schools and high-technology equipment. They said there is no reason it can't happen.

"Tourism has proven in Nevada that we have location, location, location," McKinney-James said. "Now we need to take it to the next step and emphasize education, education, education."

Along with improving schools, Berkley said that should she become a congresswoman, she would push to widen Interstate 15 and to get more flights into McCarran International Airport.

The Democrats left the conference room Saturday evening indicating they were fully prepared to engage in battle with their Republican opponents. And they agreed to do so with their current party representatives.

Paul Henry will remain chairman, Jan Churchill was re-elected as treasurer, Carol Cox again was appointed first vice chairwoman and Dorothy North was named second vice chairwoman.