Gibbons’ run for fourth term hard to stop

Erin Neff

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2002 | 11:32 a.m.

Brendan Trainor

Robert "Stickerman" Winquist

Travis Souza

Jim Gibbons

Rep. Jim Gibbons is as comfortable talking about mining and grazing issues in rural Nevada as he is talking about homeland defense on national television.

So the four candidates challenging the Republican incumbent as he seeks his fourth term in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District admit they don't really think they can beat him.

Still, the 57-year-old veteran of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars and member of the House Intelligence Committee isn't taking anything for granted.

"I believe I have a strong record of serving Nevada's interests and the nation's best interests," Gibbons said. "I'm looking forward to serving again."

Gibbons is a former state assemblyman and was the Republican nominee for governor in 1994. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in mining from the University of Nevada, Reno and a law degree from Southwestern University.

Nevada's 2nd Congressional District includes just 12,500 voters in Clark County and encompasses all 16 of the state's other counties. But Gibbons is still making a show in Southern Nevada -- in part to court the northern sliver of the county in his district, but also to keep his name fresh for what some believe will be a future governor's race.

Right now Gibbons is busy helping his party in other ways. He has led the push for the creation of President Bush's proposed Homeland Security Department and, during fund-raising appearances for Lynette Boggs McDonald and Jon Porter, he urges Republicans to "Send me some help in Washington."

Travis Souza would rather see the Democrats pick up the seat, but realizes his first run for office will be more about the experience he gets than the votes he receives.

"I think it's really important that the voters in Nevada have a choice," said Souza, 30, president of the Young Democrats of Nevada.

Souza is at odds with Gibbons over Iraq, saying he has heard no compelling reason why the United States should invade that country. Talk of invading Iraq is being used to distract attention from the sagging economy, he said.

Souza entered the race when teacher Tierney Cahill, a Democrat who ran against Gibbons as a lesson for her classroom students, decided not to run again this year.

"It's my first race out and I decided to start small with Congress," Souza says, laughing. "I have a sincere desire to serve, but I realize this is a tough district to run in and that Gibbons will win."

The district has 154,649 registered Republicans compared with 115,402 registered Democrats. Non-partisans rank third with 44,787 voters, followed by 6,169 Independent Americans, 2,131 Libertarians and 206 Natural Law voters.

Janine Hansen, 50, first ran for Congress in 1976 and is running for the Independent American Party this year as part of her late brother Dan's goal to have 50 candidates on the ballot this year.

"The purpose of that is not just to achieve a goal, but to have 50 people out there talking about the issues," said Hansen, president of Nevada's Eagle Forum and the IAP's executive director.

She bases her candidacy on the U.S. Constitution and is lamenting what she calls "the loss of our rights."

"I would return the land to the state and people of Nevada and protect our borders," Hansen said. "That way, Yucca Mountain wouldn't even be an issue."

She said that while Gibbons has done an admirable job, she opposes his stance in support of the U.S. Patriot Act. "That destroys Fourth Amendment rights against search and seizure," she said.

Brendan Trainor is carrying the mantle for the Libertarian Party against Gibbons.

"We don't think that Jim Gibbons, like all Republicans or Democrats, stands for liberty," said Trainor, 54, chairman of Nevada's Libertarian Party.

Trainor also opposes an invasion of Iraq, calling it an example of United States "hubris and hypocrisy," and wants all U.S. forces around the globe returned to our borders.

Still Trainor does think Gibbons has done a good job of holding the line on tax increases. One main domestic difference is that Trainor does not want to protect Social Security.

"Let it die out and give young people other options," he said.

Rounding out the opposition is Robert Winquist, 56, the owner of a vending supply company and the Natural Law Party's candidate.

"I'm not a new-age stereotype," Winquist said. "I'm a meat-eating, gun-owning Nevada businessman."

Winquist, who practices yoga daily, wants to abolish the penny and solve the nation's problems through meditation.

"My 35-plus years of daily yoga meditation has so radically improved my life in terms of creativity, personal happiness and business success and wealth that I owe it to myself to speak out on the positions of the Natural Law Party," Winquist said.

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