Pa. governor helps raise GOP money

Jace Radke

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 9:55 a.m.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge took time to talk about Yucca Mountain and his being a potential running mate for Texas Gov. George W. Bush between fund-raising events in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon.

Ryan Erwin, spokesman for the Nevada Republican Party, estimated that meetings with donors and a VIP reception at the Riviera hotel-casino netted the state's Republicans more than $110,000.

Ridge, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for Bush this fall, said Wednesday that he hasn't yet been offered that post.

"I haven't spoken to Gov. Bush about it, but if I do, I don't think it would be appropriate to divulge that conversation because whoever is selected should be viewed on (his) own merits and not against two or three others," Ridge said.

Ridge joined Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., Gov. Kenny Guinn, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, state Sen. Jon Porter, a candidate for the House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate candidate John Ensign at the Riviera.

Guinn said he believes nuclear waste coming to Yucca Mountain is a dead issue for the time being with President Clinton's recent veto of the bill, despite a Republican challenge to the veto expected to play out early next week.

Ridge said he considers himself sensitive to the environment and says he has shown that in Pennsylvania.

"Deciding where to put nuclear waste has to be based on sound science," Ridge said. "We haven't sent out a lot of scientists and geologists and used a process of elimination to determine where the best site is. There are over 100 sites in the country."

The fund-raiser at the Riviera was the second in a series of three events put on by the Republican Party's Team Nevada group. Team Nevada has raised more than $510,000 for the state's Republican candidates, including the money raised Wednesday, Erwin said.

Jace Radke is a reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-2318 or by e-mail at jace@lasvegassun.com