Friday, Dec. 27, 2002 | 4:09 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION
December 28-29, 2002
Erin Neff covers politics for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062, or by e-mail at [email protected].
AS THE YEAR draws to a close, most people reflect on how the previous 12 months played out. But politicians don't recap years so much as use them as a precursor to the coming 365 days.
So while the rest of us are thinking about family gatherings, holidays, birthdays and maybe even a few stories and people who made headlines in 2002, several pols are already beyond '03 in their thoughts.
Take Jim Gibbons, for example -- the U.S. congressman who is well-known throughout Nevada for both his terms in Congress and his past as a jet fighter pilot in two wars.
The Mormon Republican may be sharing a sparkling cider toast on Tuesday night with his wife and son, but it'll be more about gauging the family's interest in taking on Sen. Harry Reid than "Auld Lang Syne."
Gibbons knows what few people outside of politics can understand. For him, it is already summer in his preparations for a late fall 2004 race against a formidable Democrat that only he, and possibly not even he, can beat.
The year 2003 will shape up as a rapid race to round up campaign contributions. Gibbons will have to announce within the first half of the year his intentions as other would-be candidates' lives hang waiting for the 58-year-old political Father Time to make up his mind.
The potential Baby New Year 2003 of the political world is baby-faced Secretary of State Dean Heller.
Also a Republican, and also well-known statewide, Heller's future cannot be determined until the elder statesman of his party figures out what he will do.
If Gibbons does opt to take on Reid, there is suddenly a congressional seat to be had. And it's a prime district for the GOP -- 16 counties and a sliver of Republican territory in Clark County.
Who better for the GOP to launch a Washington career than a straight-shooting executive branch leader who spent 2002 busily reforming campaign and election procedures to win both media and public favor?
Democrats may have to start thinking about the Gibbons-Heller scenario as a political reality. Why? Because if it happens they need to rally quickly behind Reid and find a strong opponent to take on Heller. They also must lock up funds and find a message before anyone else does.
Besides, what else can Democrats do this New Year's Eve? None of them wants to remember 2002, save for the adage that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Democrats had nothing to celebrate in 2002. There was no party, in any sense of the word, due to the lack of organization.
If the donkeys want to party at the end of next year, they have plenty of work to do in the coming months.
There are candidates to find, and more importantly, groom. And they'll have to exploit President Bush's approval of Yucca Mountain to set the stage for an electoral ground war in 2004 -- the type of pitted battle that Reid needs.
State leaders may be the only ones pausing to reflect on 2002 without speeding ahead on the calendar.
Gov. Kenny Guinn and the 63 legislators aren't really thrilled about what the new year holds for them. Not only is there the estimated $700 million to $800 million deficit, but there are also all of those other problems nobody really resolved in 2002 -- medical malpractice, construction defects and education funding.
The only state leader not too hung up about this year or next year is Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson.
Perkins is already counting down to 2006, the year in which he will make a bid for the governor's mansion, possibly against two formidable Democratic primary opponents.
Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, is happy to forget 2002 and her failed efforts to retake the majority in the Senate. So, it's no wonder she's also looking to 2006.
Titus and Perkins are the Democrats' main voices in Carson City, and they may find themselves out of tune occasionally as they eye the far-off governor's race.
Democratic Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson will just eye the '03 and '05 legislative sessions from his hometown, readying his own 2006 run for the mansion.
So here's to 2002, but as political junkies will agree, the years on the horizon look even better.
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