Assembly District 21

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2002 | 8:33 a.m.

Two Democrats and two Republicans will vie in primaries for a chance to replace Republican District 21 Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, who is running for State Senate District 5.

GOP hopefuls Walter Andonov and Jess Foster will square off in one race while Democrats Lisa Cano and Ian Harrison will face off in the other. American Independent Party candidate Joshua Hansen will go to the November ballot unchallenged.

District 21 includes the western half of Green Valley and the northern part of Sun City MacDonald Ranch, all in Henderson. Andonov, 33, a management and financial advisor who is a graduate of Valley High and West Point, is running on a platform calling for holding the line on taxes and spending, promoting a favorable climate for business growth, fair-share funding for Henderson and improved educational opportunities.

"As our community grows and changes, we need someone to protect our quality of life and work for common sense solutions," said Andonov, a former Army captain and legislative aide to Sen. John Ensign, RNev., when Ensign was a congressman in 1996.

Foster, 64, retired with a master's degree in guidance counseling, is running on a platform that addresses the economy, health care, education and utilities.

He says the Legislature must work to bring diverse businesses to the state, keep emergency care centers operating, demand accountability in public education -- that includes reorganizing the Clark County School District -- and review spending of the utilities "to avert negative impact on consumers." "My goal as a legislature would be to listen, read and thoroughly analyze all information before voting on a specific issue," Foster said.

On the Democratic side, Cano, 32, a Clark County School District Spanish teacher with a bachelor's in English Literature and Spanish, is former Paradise Town Board member.

"As an educator and leadership advisor I have witnessed the importance of my involvement in the lives of my students," Cano said. "I am committed to making a difference in my community especially at this critical time in Southern Nevada. I feel I have the leadership skills, integrity and experience to make positive change."

Cano's goals are to raise the dollars-per-student ratio that has placed the local school district at 41st in the nation in pupil expenditures, continue the fight to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada and find long-term solutions to high medical malpractice insurance costs to prevent a decline in health care.

Harrison, 34, a college professor with a master's degree in history from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says he will work toward improving quality of life in Green Valley and strengthening public education through teacher salary hikes and cost-effective improvements of technology in classrooms.

Harrison, owner of a Henderson advertising firm, also supports growth in the Neighborhood Watch program and enacting tougher one-strike laws against sexual offenders "to remove them from our community."

He also seeks to help stabilize the local health care system and "keeping taxes low, equitable and fair."

Hansen did not respond to a Sun campaign questionnaire.