Erin Neff

Tue, Aug 13, 2002 (11:11 a.m.)

With a sizable bank account, endorsements and media attention, Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany is her Republican Party's anointed candidate to become a state senator.

That's why former Assemblyman Bob Wong thinks he will win the GOP primary in Senate District 5.

"I'm up against an entrenched candidate," Wong said. "But she's part of the Legislature that has let things get so out of control. So many issues have been on the back burner for so long that we've burned the food."

Tiffany, 53, has served five terms in the Assembly and is a small-business owner who has become the first candidate in Nevada to campaign via video e-mails.

"You never know and you never take anyone for granted," Tiffany said of Wong. "But we started walking the district in May, and we just haven't seen much of him.

"Short of anything huge or disastrous, we'll be up against John Hawk," she added.

Hawk, a 28-year-old state Board of Education member, also has a primary opponent to get past. But Tiffany is already focused on the Democrat, judging from her play-by-play of his district walking and campaigning in schools.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, thinks Senate 5 is a seat Hawk can pick up for the Democrats to pull them closer to the Republicans, which now have a 12-9 majority.

Wong thinks he'll be the one facing Hawk, but it won't be to assist the majority party.

"I want to go up there and be an irritant," Wong said. "The Republican Senate is full of idealogues that can't think for the best interests of the community."

Wong, 61, served one term representing Assembly District 15, and if elected to the Senate, pledges he will stay for just one term.

Tiffany, on the other hand, has plans to stay.

After being stricken with kidney stones and an ensuing sepsis infection that almost claimed her life this spring, Tiffany acts as though she was born again, both literally and politically.

She is once again proposing breaking up the Clark County School District and is refocused on efforts to prevent nursing home abuse and telemarketing scams that target seniors.

"I feel as though I've been given a new lease on life and I have work to do," Tiffany said.

Wong said he thinks deconsolidating the school district is "an abomination."

He plans to focus on health care issues by "bringing money-hungry hospitals in line" and reducing health costs for those least able to pay.

On the Democratic side, Hawk faces a challenge from 22-year-old consultant Sharon Gobel -- a first-time candidate facing a tough race against her party's anointed one.

"Right now I'm focusing on my campaign, just getting the experience," Gobel said. "Even if it falls through, the experience I get from running will help me in the future."

Gobel wants the Legislature to uphold the $350,000 cap imposed during the special session. She is also concerned about veterans and senior citizen issues. Her father-in-law, Ed Gobel, is a veterans activist who has run for state office as a Republican.

Hawk is an educational consultant for the Clark County School District and teaches math at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His platform revolves around problem-solving.

"The quality of life issues that currently plague Southern Nevada are too urgent to allow them to become bogged down in partisan bickering or political ideology," Hawk said.

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