Columnist Jeff German: Guinn, Jones eyeing the finish line in governor’s race

Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998 | 11:59 a.m.

CRUNCH time is upon us in the race for governor.

Republican businessman Kenny Guinn and Democratic Mayor Jan Laverty Jones are stepping up the pace in the last days of the campaign, both confident they'll be the choice of the voters on Tuesday.

The race has become so negative and confusing, however, that it's hard for the average voter to tell who's the most qualified to lead Nevada into the 21st Century.

Both camps, for example, are using retiring Democratic Gov. Bob Miller to lure voters to their side.

Jones began airing television ads this week with the governor touting her campaign.

"I know we can trust Jan Jones with Nevada's future," Miller tells the viewer.

At the same time, Guinn, a close friend of Miller's, is running an ad that repeats a derogatory quote attributed to the governor during his 1994 Democratic primary battle with Jones.

"Mayor Jones is willing to besmirch the reputation of anybody for her own political gain," the quote reads.

The ad effectively attracts attention to the mayor's ethics troubles over the years.

"Is it any wonder Jan Jones has been called before the Ethics Commission more than any elected official in Nevada history," the ad concludes. "Integrity matters."

Still, which Miller are we supposed to believe?

Jones strategists contend Guinn's campaign has stalled in the last weeks of the race and that the mayor now is dead even with the well-financed Republican.

Tracking polls done by Jones give each candidate 42 percent of the vote with the rest undecided or supporting neither one.

But the Guinn aides say their own polls have Guinn ahead by a 46-39 percent margin. A survey of likely voters has their man even farther out front by 49-37 percent, they add.

Guinn's polling was deadly accurate in his bitter primary race with maverick Aaron Russo, who has since endorsed Jones.

But again, who are we supposed to believe?

Jones aides insist the mayor is the one who's more in sinc with the voters these days.

"Kenny has been running for three years and spent close to $5 million, and he has yet to define himself or an issue that's important to voters." says one Jones strategist. "He's as wishy washy as they come."

Adds the aide: "Jan is connecting with the people of Nevada, the women, the workers, the retirees. She's talking about healthcare, environment, crime, education and growth and that's what's important to the future of Nevada."

If Jones is addressing the issues, she's not doing a good job of it in her television ads, where the brunt of the campaign is being waged.

"I haven't seen an issue spot from Jan Jones in the last seven weeks," says Guinn Campaign Manager Pete Ernaut. "Jan Jones has attacked Kenny Guinn's record as superintendent of schools, chairman of Southwest Gas Corp. and chairman of PriMerit Bank with almost totally false information."

"The bottom line is the voters just don't believe what she's saying."

Ernaut says that as Jones has stepped up her attacks in recent weeks, her own negatives have risen.

"I think she peaked about two weeks ago," he says. "Her numbers have steadily eroded."

Jones aides say the mayor was forced to go negative after Guinn went on the attack the week after the Sept. 1 primary election.

The Guinn camp doesn't deny that it was the first to go negative.

But Ernaut argues that early in the campaign Guinn also defined himself in the eyes of the voters.

"He talked about a lot of issues -- safety in schools, education accountability, ethics reform and stream-lining government," Ernaut says. "I think that's a message that resonates with everyone."

If the race is as close as the Jones camp believes it is, then the winner is likely to hinge on who gets their supporters to the polls on Tuesday.

The edge there may go to Guinn, who demonstrated in the primary that he has a phenomenal grassroots organization throughout the state.

Republicans also have a slight advantage in numbers and more are expected to vote than Democrats next week.

But Jones should be able to take advantage of a massive get-out-the-vote drive by organized labor, which has endorsed her candidacy.

Women also may be more motivated to go to the polls to support Jones and the other female candidates head-lining the Democratic ticket this year.

Guinn, however, has the confidence of the state's four largest newspapers, including the SUN, who are backing him.

As always, the last word will come from the voters, who'll have to cut through the rhetoric to make the right choice next week.

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