Herrera, Porter tangle over ads, Yucca, Social Security

Erin Neff

Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 | 9:19 a.m.

Dario Herrera and Jon Porter minced words over campaign ads, Social Security and Yucca Mountain during an hourlong televised debate Sunday night.

Porter, a Republican and former state senator, accused Herrera's campaign and the national Democratic Party of dumping $2 million of "lies and half-truths" onto the airwaves.

"They started two weeks before the primary," Porter said during the debate on KLAS Channel 8. "We've had to respond to negative attack ads since the middle of August."

Herrera, a Democrat and chairman of the Clark County Commission, defended ads run on his behalf saying that what Porter considers negative is, in his mind, "issue-based and factually correct."

"The difference is, people know exactly where I stand while my opponent is full of empty rhetoric and personal campaign attacks," Herrera said.

Herrera on Friday announced his campaign would air nothing but positive commercials until Election Day.

"I don't think a man of character can distort someone's position and hold himself up to be a man of character," Herrera said.

Porter said he had no control over the ads national Republicans ran on his behalf, adding: "We have no say."

Herrera chimed up to say: "He can't stand up to his own party."

Both men said they would not privatize Social Security, but they offered different ideas on how to keep the program solvent.

Porter said he has heard several ideas on the campaign trail, from selling something like war bonds to fund it or offering tax credits to seniors.

But, he said, "I'm not advocating any of these.

Herrera insisted his position on Social Security has never changed, and said he thought the life expectancy of the trust fund could be extended past 2041 if Congress simply kept its hands out of the program's till.

In 2000 Porter had suggested people should have the option to invest a portion of their Social Security payments in the stock market.

But Porter repeated numerous times Sunday evening that he did not consider that privatization, and doesn't support privatization, which he called akin to "selling the fire department."

In response to a question about environmental issues, Herrera said the Bush administration has "had a great disdain for the environment aided by my opponent's biggest supporters."

Porter said he has been fighting Yucca Mountain since 1985, and said Herrera shouldn't question his campaign contributions from House Republicans who pushed for the dump because Herrera also has money from some members of Congress who voted for Yucca Mountain.

Porter said he would not be swayed by Republican leadership on future Yucca matters because "it's not coming back to Congress."

Democrats contend Congress will have future roles with Yucca because Congress controls the pursestrings for the project, and lawmakers would have to vote if House Republicans try to step up the timeline for storage or above-ground storage on the site.

Porter's questions of Herrera in Sunday's debate were focused on issues, while he used all three questions in a debate Friday night on KLVX Channel 10 to ask Herrera why he missed local committee meetings.

During that debate Herrera answered the first question saying, "I'm really disappointed you would take that tone."

After the second such question, Herrera said: "There you go again, having to focus on the negative."

The two will debate again Friday at 9 p.m. on Channel 10, and again on "Face to Face with Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE at showings at 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Oct. 29.