Candidates Bernstein, Moers unlike as can be

Thursday, May 4, 2000 | 10:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Lawyer Edward Bernstein says he's poured $500,000 of his own money so far into his campaign for the U.S. Senate. His opponent in the Democratic primary election, Ronald Moers, says it was a chore for him to raise the $500 filing fee to enter the race.

If elected, Bernstein says he will fight insurance companies, HMOs and Big Oil on behalf of the average guy. Moers says he is the average guy "living from paycheck to paycheck, clipping food coupons and standing in line to buy a six-pack of Bud."

Bernstein pioneered the use of television advertising for lawyers in Nevada and now says he handles more cases than any other attorney in the state. Moers has bounced from career to career and is now concentrating on writing screenplays while working part time as a property manager in Henderson. Although he has authored 25 stories, he has yet to sell his first.

Bernstein has garnered the support of the hierarchy of the Democrat Party in a bid to defeat former Republican Rep. John Ensign. Moers has yet to collect his first campaign contribution.

This is Bernstein's first foray into politics. Moers ran unsuccessfully in 1998 against Clark County Sheriff Jerry Keller.

Moers, 58, entered the race the opening day of filing Monday. Bernstein, 50, filed his candidacy Wednesday.

Also Wednesday the Independent American Party nominated Ernest Berghof of Las Vegas for the race.

Based on his name recognition and money, Bernstein, who in a previous interview characterized himself as a cross between Madonna and the Dalai Lama, is clearly the favorite to win the primary election in September.

He said Madonna and the Dalai Lama are two people who grow and search for new ways to improve.

In answer to questions from reporters, Bernstein said he favors partial-birth abortions when the life and health of the mother are threatened and he backs establishing national academic standards for public schools.

Government, he said, has no role in the relationship between a woman and her doctor. He sees it as a privacy issue.

In an effort toward educational accountability, Bernstein said there should be minimum national academic standards for students. States would be allowed to set stricter ones.

He says he's a "great lover of all religions. There are many paths up the mountain."

On Yucca Mountain, Bernstein says he is opposed to the project and is working with candidates in other states to round up votes to stop the proposed high-level nuclear waste dump.

He wants to stop HMOs and insurance companies from tying the hands of doctors in making medical decisions.

He and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman are longtime friends. They went to the same school in the East at different times and Bernstein set up a law office next to Goodman's in Las Vegas. Asked if the mayor endorsed his candidacy, Bernstein replied, "Of course."

Moers was a police officer in Illinois and then started several different companies, including a karate school, a construction firm and a swimming pool business. He has lived in Nevada since 1989.