Stupak parries with Reese in his first debate

Erin Neff

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 2:08 a.m.

Political rookie Nevada Stupak at times seemed overwhelmed during his first-ever debate Wednesday night, but he worked through answers about redevelopment, tax parity and urban blight with enough generalities to please a partisan crowd.

The 23-year-old son of gambling entrepreneur Bob Stupak admitted several times during his debate with incumbent Gary Reese that he did not know answers to specific questions, but he vowed to "work as hard as I can" if elected to represent Ward 3 on the Las Vegas City Council.

But Reese, a 57-year-old barber, also appeared uncomfortable at points during the Paradise Democratic Club debate at the Culinary Training Center.

At the end of the 90-minute session, Reese eyed several people wearing Stupak shirts walking to the microphone and told the moderator he did not want to stick around for questions from the audience.

"They're going to hit me with low-blows," Reese said, out of earshot of the audience, before begrudgingly staying around for three questions.

During the debate Stupak said he would "work to preserve Ward 3," from being "a dumping ground" for low-income housing and social services such as homeless shelters.

"Otherwise it will turn into a ghetto like many major cities throughout the country," Stupak said, answering a question about whether developers need to pay higher impact fees to fund city services.

"The more established neighborhoods have had to pay the price, and I think the builders need to pay the price," Stupak added.

Reese shrugged off Stupak's criticism of his efforts in the poorer areas of his ward, saying "We're definitely heading in the right direction."

He justified his approval Tuesday of a 2-percent property tax hike as a way to raise money for parks in his ward, the oldest and most economically and racially diverse.

"What it will do in my ward is go in there and rebuild those parks, put in new playground equipment," Reese said.

Reese said the tax hike was needed because of the difficulty raising money.

"It's difficult to raise money for parks when this gentleman was able to raise almost half a million dollars for his campaign alone?" Stupak asked. "I don't see why some of that money can't go to the park fund."

Before the primary Reese had raised $323,000 to Stupak's $11,000. Reese received 45 percent of the vote, falling short of the 50 percent needed to win the election outright.

Stupak, who plied primary voters with doughnuts at the polls, is running a largely grass-roots campaign. He earned 28 percent of the vote on primary night, besting four other candidates who now are aiding his campaign.

When asked how he would raise money for parks, Stupak replied he would "use the power of the incumbency" to raise the money himself -- drawing snickers from Reese.

"I don't know where Mr. Stupak was going to go out and raise the money," Reese said. "The hotels on the Strip? It's pretty hard to get them to sponsor a Little League team in West Las Vegas."

During his answer to a question about tax parity, Stupak stopped in mid-sentence, leaving an awkward 10-second pause before asking the reporter to repeat his question.

Stupak then stumbled through the rest of his answer, citing the need for economic development in Ward 3 -- including more fast food restaurants in West Las Vegas.

Reese failed to answer a question asking his opinion on a ballot question that asks voters whether they want to expand the City Council. He cited both sides of the issue and then said, "Let the voters decide."

Stupak, on the other hand, said he favored the concept of adding more seats because it would likely lead to better representation. He also said, if elected, he would treat the council position as a full-time job, likely giving up his position as a Bellagio blackjack dealer.

When Stupak answered another question by saying he would hold meetings with constituents in various settings throughout the ward, Reese rebutted "That's inexperience, I guess."

Later Reese started a rebuttal to Stupak's answer on redevelopment by saying, "I'll give Mr. Stupak a brief lesson, I guess."

The election is June 8. Early voting begins Saturday in both the city clerk's office and at the Meadows mall.

"The more established neighborhoods have had to pay the price, and I think the builders need to pay the price."Nevada Stupak