Mud splattering face to face now

Martin Kuz

Friday, Oct. 16, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

The peck on the cheek Don Chairez gave Shelley Berkley before their first televised debate seemed to portend that the two District 1 congressional rivals would set aside their mutual animosity and finally discuss the issues.

Fat chance.

"You're lying, Don," Berkley, a Democrat, said during a commercial break only minutes into the half-hour debate Thursday at KTNV Channel 13 studios.

The comment came after a heated on-air exchange in which Chairez, a Republican and former District Court judge, defended his judicial record against Berkley's charge that he was soft on crime. The remark also suggested that a mudslinging war that up until now has been fought indirectly through TV ads had just become personal.

The two candidates, vying to replace outgoing Rep. John Ensign, who is challenging Sen. Harry Reid, managed to talk about Social Security, education and Nevada's infrastructure. Both said if elected they would try to secure more money for state roadways, fight federal regulation of gaming and oppose efforts to store the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada.

But it was invective, not issues, that dominated the discussion.

After Chairez said he favored stiffer penalties for criminals and bolstering the war on drugs, Berkley contended his record didn't back up his rhetoric. Parroting TV ads aired by her campaign and the Nevada Democratic Party, she said Chairez botched the Jeremy Strohmeyer murder trial and the case of convicted sex offender Maynard Humphrey.

Chairez prevented prosecutors from entering into evidence Strohmeyer's laptop computer, on which sexually explicit material had been stored. The Nevada Supreme Court later overturned the decision. Last year, Chairez reduced the life sentence of Humphrey, a nursing assistant convicted of sexually assaulting elderly patients, to 25 years because of a plea agreement between his attorney and prosecutors.

"You either walk the walk or talk the talk," Berkley said, countering Chairez's assertion that he was tough on criminals. "My opponent has a record of being weak on crime."

Chairez, who previously has said he made the Strohmeyer decision based on legal precedent and to ensure inclusion of the convicted child killer's confession, accused Berkley of distorting the Humphrey case for political gain.

"What Shelley is doing is typical of people who like to run negative campaigns," he said. The attack ads funded by the state Democratic Party are worse than the infamous Willie Horton spots aired by George Bush against Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race, Chairez added.

Berkley, a university regent, later said Chairez has allowed Sheldon Adelson to underwrite his campaign. The Las Vegas Sands Inc. chairman and his business associates have given at least $15,000 to Chairez. Berkley has received $4,000 from Adelson's family and associates, and through mid-August had collected $882,000 in total campaign contributions compared with Chairez's $155,000.

Adelson has been a presence in the campaign since before the Sept. 1 statewide primary. A tape recording surfaced in June of a conversation Berkley, a former Adelson employee, had with a friend last year in which she discussed ways her ex-boss could use his deep pockets to influence politicians. Adelson fired Berkley last year as his vice president of government relations.

Chairez said after the debate that Berkley has become preoccupied with her former employer. "I think she's running against Sheldon Adelson, not me," he said.

Berkley repeatedly has called on Chairez to discuss the issues in the campaign. When asked why she decided to go on the offensive Thursday, Berkley said she could no longer ignore the "unsubstantiated" claims against her character that the national and state Republican Party have made in numerous TV ads.

"After withstanding a savage attack, I thought it was important to set the record straight. I have done that," she said.

But Chairez said his opponent has another motive. "The bottom line is, she has to smear me to win," he said.

Channel 13 will air the debate at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.