Fourteen-term assemblyman faces challenge

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2002 | 10:41 a.m.

Assembly Democrats widely control their house and usually face only token competition from the GOP.

But 14-term Assemblyman Bob Price, a Democrat from North Las Vegas, faces a challenge this year for the District 17 seat from an aggressive campaigner in his own party.

Kelvin Atkinson, 33, is hoping his two past campaigns for the Assembly have given him the knowledge to oust the incumbent committee chairman first elected when Atkinson was in the second grade.

"As I walk door-to-door especially in the new parts of the district I find very few people know him by name," said Atkinson, the neighborhood liaison for Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera. "I think this district deserves to have someone represent them."

Price, 66, has spent much of the past two months attending conferences for state legislators and taking part in the special session.

"I consider it the toughest campaign I've had," Price said. "I haven't been as active as I'd like to be, and I couldn't raise money during and after the special session."

Just the week before early voting was to start, Price's campaign signs were still gathering dust in storage.

After redistricting in 2001, Assembly 17 moved farther north and west, extending all the way to Indian Springs and pushing Price out. Although he said he tried to buy a home before the deadline to move back into the district, Price said he ended up moving a recreational vehicle into the new borders in order to qualify.

"We're just going to stay there until we can build a home," Price said.

Atkinson said he decided to run when the district was an open seat. It was only after he started campaigning, he said, that Price moved his RV in.

"I think Price has done a lot," Atkinson said. "I just feel in my honest heart of hearts that it's time for a change."

Price was chairman of the Constitutional Amendments committee during the 2001 Legislature and saw his biggest pet project, a bill to create annual sessions of the Legislature, die in a Senate committee.

During the legislative sessions Price is known for highlighting Area 51 and at times has an inflatable alien at his desk. A strong union advocate, Price recently joked that lap dancers should unionize.

A retired electrician, Price has been actively involved in the National Conference of State Legislators, serving as vice chairman in the past. He has benefited from union support in past elections.

Atkinson said he has raised $26,000 so far and has commitments from labor if he gets past the primary. Price said he planned a mailer to coincide with the start of early voting on Aug. 17 and hoped unions would help him get his signs up.

One Democratic political consultant said he thought the race would hinge on how actively unions engage in the race.

"Bob needs that support because Atkinson is out walking the district every night," the consultant said.

The Democratic primary winner faces a tough challenge in November from Republican Luis Valera, a 28-year-old financial adviser, who as a Hispanic said he hoped to court Hispanic votes away from the Democrat. The district has a 9 percent Democratic voter registration edge.

Valera was vice president of the student body while at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas earning his political science degree. His campaign focuses on job development, handling growth and improving education.

Atkinson has run twice before, losing the past two Democratic primaries to Assemblywoman Genie Ohrenschall. Atkinson has a 6-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

Price has six children and four grandchildren and is married to Nancy Price, a Republican education activist.

Price's daughter Theresa is running for Assembly District 37, a new seat in northwest Las Vegas.