Partisanship ensues after state suffers stinging loss

Erin Neff

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

Although the state's political fight against a proposed nuclear waste dump officially ended Tuesday, the politics of Yucca Mountain will remain a key issue in Nevada this election year.

The bipartisan efforts of Nevada's federal delegation are dissolving with political finger-pointing.

Moments after the 60-39 vote in the U.S. Senate to proceed with approval of the dumpsite 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the Democrats had forgotten Republican Sen. John Ensign's work and were ratcheting up the partisan rhetoric.

Nevada Democratic Chairman Terry Care thanked only Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley, both Democrats, for their work and assailed both the Bush administration and two Republican candidates in Nevada, pointing out they took money from the nuclear industry.

Republicans responded by saying the campaign contributions weren't an issue because their candidates were fervently opposed to the dump. Democrats, they note, also took money from Yucca supporters.

Still Care sees the issue as a wedge between the parties.

"I think it can be an issue that resonates this fall," Care said.

But many doubt whether the issue -- given the inevitability of the Senate vote and the bipartisan work to oppose the dump -- will resonate with voters.

"In this fall's elections, it's pretty much clear that everybody's on the same side," said Ted Jelen, chairman of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas political science department.

Jelen said Democrats have nothing to lose by "making hay" out of the issue because voters won't reject assaults on Republicans as unethical.

Care thinks that Yucca Mountain will be a key issue in the race for Nevada's new congressional seat.

State Sen. Jon Porter, a Republican running for Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, received $69,000 in campaign contributions from House Republicans who pushed for the repository.

GOP attorney general candidate Brian Sandoval took a minimal contribution from Nuclear Energy Institute lobbyist Robert List, a former Republican governor of Nevada.

"Yucca Mountain is not going to go away as an issue," Care said.

Indeed, Porter's and Sandoval's opponents are not letting it rest.

Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera, a Democrat running for the 3rd congressional seat, called Tuesday's Senate vote "outrageous" and vowed to continue battling President Bush, the nuclear power industry and House and Senate Republican leaders.

"They are the ones who pushed this through," Herrera said.

Porter's campaign consultant Mike Slanker said he does not think Yucca is an issue that will stick in the congressional race because "Dario is just transparent on it."

"The Democrats and a handful of Democratic candidates are just going to beat the same old drum and try to make Republicans look bad on nuclear waste," Slanker said.

Democratic attorney general candidate John Hunt launched his campaign against Sandoval from the steps of the Foley Federal Building downtown saying he would often be in court there fighting the federal government on Yucca issues. Hunt also attacked Sandoval for taking money from List.

"There will be attempts by the party on the other side of the aisle to make this a political issue," Nevada Republican Chairman Bob Seale said. "They are no more anti-nuclear waste than we are."

Slanker said Herrera is being a hypocrite because his campaign also received money from Yucca supporters. Herrera received $5,000 from three U.S. representatives that subsequently voted for the dump.

"He says, 'Oh my guys aren't as important as your guys,' " Slanker said.

Many politicians, including Ensign and Reid, have taken money with at least a remote tie to Yucca Mountain.

Jelen said Tuesday's Yucca vote will likely have a greater impact in 2004 and 2006 than it will this fall. President George Bush may have trouble in Nevada in 2004 and Ensign will have to work hard to regain voter confidence prior to his 2006 re-election bid, Jelen said.

"John Ensign made it a centerpiece of his campaign that he was going to be able to get Republican votes," Jelen said. "Obviously he didn't live up to that."

Ensign was joined by Sens. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., in voting against the Yucca resolution Tuesday.

Guinn said he thinks Yucca's significance as a political issue is over, even though he acknowledges an election year will draw barbs.

The governor also said it's time for politicians to re-focus their efforts on Nevada's legal battle and the state's continued need for federal ssistance on a host of issues.

"I went against President Bush because it was the right thing to do for Nevada," Guinn said. "But I'm going to continue talking to President Bush because that's absolutely the right thing to do for Nevada."

Although Democrats continue to attack on Yucca, both parties are united in mainstream opposition to negotiating for benefits.

"There's no deal to be made," Reid said after the Senate vote. "This is just the beginning of the fight and it makes no sense to go after money that isn't even there."

Most politicians followed suit. But Independent congressional candidate Pete O'Neil and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Neal both favor bargaining for concessions from the government for accepting the waste.

Neal, a state senator from North Las Vegas, has been arguing for negotiations for years. O'Neil, who is running against Porter and Herrera, said Tuesday's Senate vote "validated" his position.

Although the political establishment is now steeling for a lengthy legal and licensing showdown over Yucca, nobody is talking about how the state will be able to afford such a fight.

Guinn said the state can pay for the money spent on lobbyists and television ads trying to sway the Senate vote. But raising money was difficult as lawmakers balked at a special session of the Legislature to add money to the fight and Nevada's business community by and large kept its fingers on its checkbook.

"I applaud the financial support we received," Guinn said. "We'll have to take our case to the people of Nevada and the Legislature again."

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