Friday, Oct. 3, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Three-term Assemblyman Bob Beers says he's going to run for the state Senate in Las Vegas next year and a major issue will be "the tax- and-spend voting record" of fellow Republican Sen. Ray Rawson.
"As a constituent of Sen. Rawson, I'm disappointed in how he voted during the last session," said Beers who was a strong opponent of the $836 million tax bill and the $4.89 billion general fund budget.
He said the budget and taxes were raised at three times the rate that Nevada's population is increasing. "I couldn't see how that made sense."
Rawson, who was elected in 1984, could not be reached for comment this morning.
Senate District 6 had 22,731 Republicans and 19,443 Democrats according to the most recent voter registration figures, which date to August.
A win by Beers might give the conservative coalition of the Senate in Clark County, enough votes to replace Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Republican Sens. Ann O'Connell and Barbara Cegavske, both of Las Vegas and Sandra Tiffany of Henderson, were strong opponents of the tax increase.
Beers said he had a safe seat in the Assembly for re-election and he had the "opportunity to chair Ways and Means (Committee) or Commerce and Labor (Committee) because I think the Assembly will become Republican" in the 2005 Legislature. But he said he felt his "highest and best public service" could come in the Senate.
He estimates he will have to spend $250,000 to unseat Rawson in the GOP primary election in the district that takes in the north corner of Summerlin, half of Sun City and some of northwest Las Vegas.
Since the end of the regular and special sessions of the Legislature this year, Beers said he has been asked frequently how he withstood the "barrage of criticism" for opposing the tax increase proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn. Beers favored a smaller tax increase to keep government running at its present level, rather than enhancing programs.
He said he answers by telling people he was receiving "a couple of hundred e-mails a day and they were 80 percent positive" in support of his stance.
"I do think a lot of Las Vegans are not happy with all the increases in their taxes," said Beers, 44, a computer consultant. "The sales tax in Clark County went up, if you sell your home you pay more taxes, if you smoke you pay more taxes, if you have an occasional drink you pay more taxes and we snuck in a property tax increase on the capital improvement bill."
"According to the National Taxpayers Foundation, we already have the 14th highest rate of taxation in America," Beers said. "We built a growing, vibrant economy here with one of the lowest rates of poverty in America.
"I think we damaged that somewhat with this," tax increase, he said. "Hopefully, not much. I would hate to see us keep going in that direction."
Proponents of the tax increases said the additional revenue was needed to pay for the growing needs that come with a growing population, particularly in education.
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