Columnist Jon Ralston: Guinn challenger must be strong

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 5 a.m.

And that, to put it simply, is wrong.

Deputy Attorney General Matthew Dushoff, who announced his candidacy against Gov. Kenny Guinn a week ago, is correct that without an alternative, no issues will be discussed. And they should be -- taxes, health care, education funding, social programs, medical malpractice, construction defects and so on.

But Dushoff is not the person for the job -- he can't raise a dime, he has no credibility to run for the state's highest office and he doesn't know the issues. He's not even a sacrificial lamb; he's more like a sacrificial gnat.

Whether or not you think Guinn has done a reasonable job as governor, it is obscene not to have a debate on how the tax structure should be changed, whether caps should be put on jury awards or what taxes should be raised so we can fund education at a level above a backwater.

Someone has to be on the ballot to force Guinn to take positions before the 2003 Legislature convenes. The governor may intend on doing the right thing, but let's hear him say it. Only one person makes sense for the job of sacrificial lamb/possible miracle winner, and I realized it when I attended the Clark County Democratic Convention last weekend.

No, not Mayor Oscar Goodman -- he would never take the time to get to know the issues, he'd be lampooned for his lack of getting anything done and all the sick stuff in "Mob Law" and he'd implode by midsummer. No, not Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny -- she has the brains and knows some of the issues, but she'd have to give up her seat, she has to take the bar this year and she has too many negatives. And, no to Assembly leaders Richard Perkins and Barbara Buckley (they would have to relinquish their seats, too) or Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson (he is a Guinnite).

The only person for the job -- and the only person who would have the position, the confidence and the chutzpah to make Guinn take positions -- is Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus.

Think about it -- and I did as I watched her deliver a couple of edgy speeches at the convention with her trademark drawl.

Titus has the brains -- she is as smart as almost anyone out there.

Titus has the savvy -- she is a political science professor, has an ear for populism and she can do demagoguery with the best of them.

Titus has the knowledge -- she can hold her own with Guinn on most of the pressing state issues.

Titus has the personality -- she's feisty, sometimes to the point of nasty, and she will get in Guinn's face.

Titus has the credibility -- she's the leader of the Democrats in the state Senate, so Guinn can't just ignore her as he can Matthew whatshisname.

Titus has the gender -- as a woman in the top race, just as Jan Jones did the last two cycles, she presumably will attract females to the polls.

And, very importantly, Titus is at mid-term, so she wouldn't risk losing her elected title.

Where is the downside? I only see two.

Titus might argue that she will be distracted from her duty to try to take over the state Senate -- and she has an outside chance this year. But she has good candidates, a more-than-able lieutenant in Lindsey Jydstrup and the funding of those races will take care of itself.

The only real argument against Titus running is that without a real candidate, Guinn's vaunted political machine will idle, which could inure to the benefit of Democrats in other contests. With a credible contender, the argument goes, the Guinnites will rev up the campaign vehicle, which could run over Democrats down the ticket, such as congressional contender Dario Herrera and legislative hopefuls.

Well, maybe. But maybe Titus could energize Democrats to get out there and work, thus helping others, including her own Senate contenders.

Could she win? Doubtful. She is reviled outside Southern Nevada for her Clark County jingoism, she may not be able to keep her acerbic nature in check and she will never match Guinn's money or organization.

But she could smoke the governor out on various critical issues, thus framing differences in advance of Session '03. And she would earn a lot of chits, gain statewide exposure and maybe even prove to extra-Southern Nevadans that she's not the Wicked Witch of the South.

This is one rock she should try to push up the hill: Not just for the good of the party, but for the state. I know what you're thinking -- I'm just a journalist who wants a race where none exists. Of course, I want a real contest. But my point is simple: You should want one, too, because perhaps then we can replace the illusion of choice with a reality.

That's why Dina Titus should run for governor.