Democratic Assembly leaders named

Kirsten Searer

Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 | 11:27 a.m.

Assembly Democrats, buoyed with three additional seats won in November, have announced new committee and leadership posts.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, will take over as speaker pro tem, a spot vacated with longtime Assemblyman Wendell Williams' loss on Election Day.

Assemblyman John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, will remain assistant majority leader.

Democrats took advantage of their new seats, adding another Democrat to the Ways and Means Committee, of which Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, will be chairman and Giunchigliani vice chair.

Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, also moved the duties of the Taxation Committee to two other committees, the Commerce and Labor Committee, which will be chaired by Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and the newly reformed Growth and Infrastructure Committee, which Perkins will chair.

Few members expressed interest in joining the Taxation Committee after last year's contentious tax debate, Perkins said.

Perkins said he is unsure whether the issue of property tax caps, which promises to be one of the hottest topics of the session, will go through his growth committee or not.

One assemblyman who will not act as a chairman is Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, who chaired the Government Affairs Committee in the 2003 session. Manendo was investigated last year on sexual harassment charges, though Perkins would not say if that was the main cause for his move. Manendo will sit on the Education, Judiciary and Transportation committees.