Porter routs Herrera in bid for new seat

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

Fresh from a resounding victory over Democrat Dario Herrera in the rancorous 3rd Congressional District race, Republican Jon Porter called for an end to the partisan bickering in Washington.

"It's time we speak with one voice," Porter said Tuesday night to hundreds of reveling Republicans poolside at Caesars Palace.

Porter attributed his 19-point victory to his 20 years of experience in public office and Nevada's call for a voice that will cut through the clutter in the nation's capital.

"This election is historic in that a dozen new seats, including this one, are here in the West," Porter said. "We can refocus our priorities and get our fair share of education and transportation dollars."

Dario Herrera, chairman of the Clark County Commission, got 37 percent of the vote to Porter's 56 percent.

"Today is Nevada's loss," Herrera said at a very quiet Democratic Party gathering at the Riviera after conceding to Porter. "It reflects the mean-spirited and vicious campaigns that the Republicans ran in Nevada and, unfortunately, the negative images won out over the positive."

Porter, 47, a former state senator, former Boulder City councilman and former Boulder City mayor, said he saw the campaign much differently.

"Nevadans have a spirit of cooperation," Porter said. "And that's the Nevada spirit I will continue in Washington, D.C."

Herrera, 29, whose newly found positive campaign approach didn't help him overcome his late double-digit deficit in the polls, said he remains committed to Nevada. Fresh off the resounding defeat, he was back in the public's eye first thing this morning at a Clark County Commission zoning meeting.

"I don't know what my future holds," Herrera said with wife, Emily, at his side. "I've learned to never say never."

Independent Party candidate Pete O'Neil, a 39-year-old bicycle league commissioner, didn't live up to his predicted spoiler role, garnering just 4 percent in his grass-roots bid.

Libertarian Party candidate Neil Scott finished fourth with 2 percent and Independent American Party candidate Richard Wayne O'Dell finished last with 1 percent.

Nevada's 3rd Congressional District was created after the 2000 U.S. Census granted the state's 2 million residents another representative.

When the 2001 Legislature drew the district's boundaries, Porter and Herrera had already expressed interest in running for the seat. Porter and his consultants, including Mike Slanker, had a major hand in the reapportionment process, so much so that a tentative deal broke down on the final day of the session because Porter wanted more registered Republicans drawn into the district.

That forced a special session of the Legislature to finalize reapportionment and the drawing of the district.

When it was first created, the 320,000-voter district had just a few hundred more registered Republicans than Democrats. Over the year Republicans stretched their lead to 1,200 votes as inactive Democratic voters were dropped from the rolls.

But Democrats had an aggressive voter registration effort to narrow the gap to about 400 voters by Election Day.

Ultimately, though, it was the district's 40,000 non-partisan voters who sided with Porter and gave him the victory.

"This victory is more than we imagined," Slanker said. "We had no idea we would win by this large a margin."

Republicans now hold two of the three congressional seats and one of the two U.S. Senate seats in Nevada.

Democrats had initially touted Nevada's 3rd as an open seat the party could win to help make up the six seats needed to retake the majority in the House of Representatives.

But Herrera began to sink in the polls as Porter and Republican ads attacked him on several ethical issues. The ads attacked a vote Herrera took as county commissioner on a billboard ordinance that benefited his wife's clients.

The ads also mentioned a $42,000 contract Herrera received to do consulting for the Las Vegas Housing Authority -- a contract he got without going through the bidding process and without board approval.

Herrera attacked Porter on Social Security, arguing that the Republican had championed partial privatization of the program when he ran in 2000 against Shelley Berkley. Herrera and Democrats also attacked Porter as a "insurance executive."

Porter is the district manager for Farmer's Insurance, in charge of training for about 40 agents.

Three weeks ago -- at the height of the candidates' debate appearances -- Herrera announced he was stopping the negative ads and would air only positive ads until Election Day.

The move, however, coincided with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's decision to stop funding the Herrera campaign.

Porter has remained close to national Republicans, enjoying campaign visits from former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and twice from former President George Bush. He has also been assured a spot on the House Transportation Committee by Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska.

"That will be my main focus," Porter said. "It's critical that Nevada gets its share of funding and resources."