Chowning edges Denis for Assembly

Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2002 | 9:26 a.m.

Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, squeaked by a tough foe Tuesday in a District 28 Democratic primary in which the Hispanic vote was expected to play a key factor.

Chowning beat challenger Moises Denis by a margin of 53 to 47 percent, or 62 votes in a district that was reshaped last year by the Legislature.

"In so many ways this was like a race I had in 1992 when I won by only 28 votes," Chowning said. "My challenger did run a very strong race so I want to give him credit. There were a lot of voters from District 11 and District 14 that were put into this district, so there are a lot of people I never represented before. Some of the people didn't know who I was."

Chowning, a 59-year-old real estate agent, was first elected in 1988, lost a re-election bid in 1990, and then returned to the Legislature in 1992, serving District 28 ever since.

Chowning, chairwoman of the Assembly Transportation Committee, also sits on the Education and Ways and Means committees. She also belongs to the Clark County and state Democratic central committees.

Denis, a 40-year-old computer technician for the state Public Utilities Commission, has lived in the district for 30 years. He was gracious in defeat.

"We thought it was going to be a close race," Denis said. "We did our best and I want to thank all my supporters. I've always served the community and I will continue to do that."

Denis is an education advocate who has been active in the Nevada Parent Teachers Association and Boy Scouts as well as in elementary and high school groups. A former chairman of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Board, Denis is current chairman of the Commission on Education Technology.

District 28 was redrawn last year so that 65 percent of its residents are Hispanic. Denis, a Hispanic, used that to his advantage during the campaign. He also picked up support from Culinary Local 226.

"We did a great mail campaign," Denis said. "Because it was mostly a new district, both of us had to work for name recognition. It was a great first time for me and a good learning experience."

But Chowning, a white woman initially drawn out of the district, speaks fluent Spanish and moved back into the new District 28 in her bid for re-election.

Chowning will now go to the general election, where she faces Libertarian James Dan, who narrowly lost to Chowning in 2000. Dan is a 51-year-old computer consultant seeking to become the state's first Libertarian legislator.