Titus’ fund-raiser is a prelude to run for governor

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, June 24, 2004 | 9:27 a.m.

Apparently trying not to be outdone by other potential gubernatorial candidates, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, held a major fund-raiser Wednesday at The Mansion at the MGM Grand.

Several months ago Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, held his own fund-raiser that garnered several hundred thousand dollars and attracted lobbyists, casino executives and other political hotshots.

Titus and Perkins are two of several Democrats eyeing a run for the governor's mansion in 2006, when Gov. Kenny Guinn will leave after two terms in office. Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson also is pondering a run.

Titus said she listed the names of key supporters on the invitation for Wednesday's fund-raiser because they were "good supporters and high-powered people," not because their names also appeared on Perkins' invitation.

"I don't see it as direct competition," she said. "I think the fact that it's being held at The Mansion is a nice statement, especially in light of the recent merger. That's pretty powerful."

The Mansion is MGM Grand's ultraexclusive high-roller domain, where the property's biggest bettors are pampered amidst the city's most lavish accommodations.

Names that supported both events include: former Sen. Richard Bryan, former Gov. Bob Miller, MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni, lobbyist Harvey Whittemore and political guru Billy Vassiliadis.

Lanni is a Republican, but MGM MIRAGE and other major casino operators were frustrated during the 2003 Legislature when a group of Republican lawmakers blocked the industry's plan to wean the state from its reliance on gaming taxes by introducing a gross receipts tax.

Several political observers said Titus' fund-raiser was a smart move to show she, too, has important people behind her.

Titus is facing Republicans Paul Fairfield and Ken Sondej, as well as Independent American John Darius Russo in her Senate race. Perkins is facing Republican Steve Grierson.

And while they need to raise money for the re-elections, "that doesn't preclude them from testing the waters for what happens next," said Democratic political consultant Dan Hart.

Gary Gray, another Democratic political consultant, called the two fund-raisers "positioning."

"A good politician will try to accomplish a number of things through a single act," said Gray, who said he is friends with Titus. "Dina needs to raise money for her race, she needs to raise money to assist other Democrats running for the Senate, and she needs to raise money with an eye on 2006. I think it's smart politics on her part to be doing so."

Ken Lange, the executive director of the Nevada State Education Association, said he was honored to appear on both invitations. He said Perkins and Titus "have different styles" but are both strong supporters of public education.

He said it's too early to say who the NSEA would support in a Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Titus said she wants to use her money to run television ads to promote her candidacy and to talk about preserving land in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. She has another major fund-raiser planned in Reno on July 7.

She said she is unsure if she will be able to roll money from her Senate campaign into her gubernatorial campaign. Several legislators, she said, are talking about pushing a bill that would limit the amount a candidate could transfer to a new campaign to $20,000.