Clinton to make his eighth visit to LV as president

Friday, March 31, 2000 | 10:19 a.m.

President Clinton is expected to trumpet his administration's economic successes, women's issues and this year's presidential candidacy of Vice President Al Gore at two Sunday fund-raisers in Las Vegas.

Clinton will attend brunches at the Henderson home of Sun President and Editor Brian Greenspun and the home of former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones.

The president is expected to raise more than $400,000 for the Democratic National Committee and Nevada Democratic Party. The money will be used for party-building activities such as voter registration drives.

This will be Clinton's eighth trip to Las Vegas since becoming president and his first visit since a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fund-raiser last Oct. 1. By comparison, former President George Bush visited Las Vegas only once while in office.

"I hope he makes a statement about Yucca Mountain," said Nevada Democratic Party Chairman Rory Reid. "If it weren't for Democrats in Congress and a Democratic administration, we'd have nuclear waste in Nevada today."

Clinton, who is arriving from Washington, D.C., will then head to California later Sunday for a fund-raiser benefiting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He will be accompanied on his Las Vegas trip by former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, general chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The committee's national chairman, Joe Andrew, is also scheduled today to address the National Association of Hispanic Publishers at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino. Andrew is expected to speak about educational excellence, affordable health care, Census 2000 and the minimum wage.

Jim Nicholson, Andrew's counterpart on the Republican National Committee, addressed the publishers Thursday and urged them to give the GOP a chance.

The fund-raiser at the home of Greenspun, a long-time friend and former college classmate of the president, is expected to raise $300,000 for the Democratic National Committee.

The second fund-raiser hosted by Jones, vice president of communications for Harrah's Entertainment Inc., is expected to generate more than $100,000. That money will be split evenly between the national committee's Women's Leadership Forum and the state party.

The amount earmarked for the state party, likely at least $50,000, is unusually high for a presidential fund-raiser. State parties normally don't receive more than 5 percent of the money raised by such presidential visits.

Greenspun has been a frequent host of the president, but this is a first for Jones, who was elected a Democratic national committeewoman in February by the state party's central committee. She said she has been amazed to get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations White House officials and the Secret Service make for a presidential visit.

"The feeling is overwhelming and an honor," Jones said. "For our family it's history."