Boggs McDonald confident she’ll be primary winner

Erin Neff

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Although Lynette Boggs McDonald technically has to get past the Sept. 3 primary, she isn't too concerned about the other Republican standing in her way.

"We don't take anyone for granted, but this is about Shelley Berkley," Boggs McDonald said.

Berkley, D-Nev., has always been Boggs McDonald's focus, but Alfred "Bus Driver" Ordunez does serve at least as a speed bump in the election year road to Washington for the Las Vegas City Councilwoman.

Boggs McDonald, 39, has raised more than $700,000 in her attempt to oust the two-term Democratic incumbent. Ordunez has raised attention to the nickname he lists on the ballot, gaining mention in the press and in a Secretary of State newsletter.

"The party doesn't really have time for me," said Ordunez, a union bus driver who spent five weeks striking for a new contract earlier this summer. "But I represent the working people and I'm true to what I believe with or without their support."

Ordunez, 45, has a simple platform: repeal the capital gains tax, repeal inheritance and estate taxes and repeal the income tax.

"The only way to do that is to be a congressman," Ordunez said.

Boggs McDonald's campaign focuses on the small business community, choice in education, senior and veterans issues.

A former Las Vegas assistant city manager, Boggs McDonald was appointed to the Las Vegas City Council in 1999, becoming the first woman to serve on the board.

The former Miss Oregon was elected to her current post in 2001, with 70 percent of the vote. Boggs McDonald has a bachelor's degree from Notre Dame University and a master's degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She owns a consulting business, is active in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas and is married with a 6-year-old son.

Berkley, a two-term incumbent, has no opposition in the Democratic primary. Green Party candidate Lane Startin and Independent American candidate Steven "Capt. Truth" Dempsey will also be on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.