Danny Tarkanian plans Senate bid

Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, April 28, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

After looking at several political offices up for grabs in November, former UNLV basketball player Danny Tarkanian has decided to run for the state Legislature against Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas.

Tarkanian, a Republican and 42-year-old son of former University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, at first was looking to aim high in his first venture into politics by challenging Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

He made two trips to Washington to meet with Republican Party officials who hoped he would take on Reid.

And last week Tarkanian met with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in connection with the open Las Vegas City Council seat.

But Tarkanian said the Legislature is the best fit for him and his interests. He said he hasn't made an official announcement yet that he will run for the state senate seat, but said Tuesday: "I intend to do so."

A Bishop Gorman High School graduate, Tarkanian was a 6-foot-2 guard who played for the Rebels from 1981 to 1984 and was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs. He later attended law school at the University of San Diego.

He said he always planned to run for office in Nevada and was actively looking at seats in 1992 and 1994. But when his father landed a coaching job at Fresno State, Tarkanian joined him as an assistant basketball coach.

In 2002, when Jerry Tarkanian retired, Danny Tarkanian defended his father against charges of academic fraud made by the NCAA. Jerry Tarkanian was cleared of involvement in the violations.

Danny Tarkanian said he moved back to Las Vegas two years ago and now stays busy running the Tarkanian Basketball Academy and working to build a facility for youth sports near Palace Station.

"My whole life has been politics and sports," Tarkanian said. "Now that sports is over, I want to get into politics."

Tarkanian said he hasn't chosen specific campaign issues yet but plans to listen to the concerns of constituents in his district, where people knew him growing up, he said.

"They know I'm going to work very hard," he said. "I'm not going to back down from a battle. I've been doing that my whole life. That's the way I've been raised. That's the way my family has been raised."

Meanwhile, Schneider said Tuesday he still might run for the Clark County Commission seat now held by Republican Lynette Boggs McDonald.

Schneider, a real estate consultant, said he was approached by many people in his district to run for the position, partly because he is a 32-year resident of the area and partly because he understands the development issues that go before the county commission.

He said some of the legislation he was "noted most for" included bills involving issues surrounding homeowners associations.

"I've sat with homeowners every day of my life, literally," he said.

Filing for races begins May 3 and runs through May 14.

"I'm torn, because I really like the Legislature," Schneider said. "I'm going to have to tell some people 'no' on one side or the other pretty quick here."

If he runs for the County Commission, he will face Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, who is seen by political insiders as having more broad-based support.

Schneider conceded that insiders have labeled Goldwater the favorite to win the Democratic nomination but he said he could surprise people because he has personal connections in the area.

"We grew up in that neighborhood," said Schneider, a longtime Little League coach and parent activist. "We know everyone. Those are the people I've really been talking to. The political gurus, they don't vote for you. They just try to make a spin on things."

Goldwater said he respects Schneider and looks forward to "a spirited campaign."

"I think I represent the issues that people are interested in," said Goldwater, who added that he is now talking to Democrats who might be interested in his Assembly seat.

Schneider also said he isn't worried about taking on Tarkanian, a political novice, if he decides to run for re-election in the Legislature.

"He can shoot a basketball better than I can," Schneider said. "I was a scholarship donor. I went to all his games. He was a good basketball player. That doesn't mean he's a good legislator."