Wednesday, March 3, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.
While the issue of full-time state employees serving as part-time state lawmakers is the hot political topic, some politicians and activists wonder if voters will remember the brewing controversy come November.
"I think its inside baseball, to be honest," said Dale Erquiaga, the lead political and advertising strategist at R&R Partners.
The question is if it will be an issue for voters.
On Monday, Attorney General Brian Sandoval issued an opinion that state employees who serve in the Legislature are violating the separation of powers clause in the state constitution.
Yet five of the six legislators affected already have declared that they'll run for office anyway, pointing out that Sandoval's opinion is just his interpretation of the law until the issue goes to court.
That might not happen until after the November election.
Sandoval said if his opinion is challenged, the court should also rule on whether local government employees should be allowed to serve in the Legislature.
"It's important for the highest court to review these two important issues and the conclusions of this office," he said. "It's up to court to accept or reject both issues. It is our opinion the executive branch does not include local government employees."
In the meantime, some candidates likely will attack both state and local public employees running for the Legislature, said political consultant Dan Hart.
"I certainly don't believe that the attorney general's opinion will significantly affect elections," Hart said. "It will, however, give opponents some fodder to attack some of these incumbents. We'll see what effect that has."
One person who already has attacked all public employees in the Legislature, activist George Harris, argues that the issue feeds into the larger debate over tax increases in Nevada.
Harris and supporters are pushing a constitutional amendment that would prohibit all public employees -- including local government employees -- from serving in the Legislature.
"We're going to remove the temptation for government employees to consolidate their power and to continually tax the people of this state," he said.
Erquiaga said he doesn't think voters will necessarily make the connection between public employees in the Legislature and tax increases.
"It's nonsense to believe that because someone is in a public job they're going to be pro taxes," he said. "Even people who work in the government pay taxes. I was a bureaucrat for a long time and I paid sales taxes and property taxes just like everyone else."
State Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, the sixth lawmaker affected by the decision, said this morning he would step down from his job at the Community College of Southern Nevada and would run for re-election.
Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who plans to challenge Rawson for the Senate seat, said Tuesday he will focus on other issues beyond Rawson's tenure at CCSN.
"This really has no impact on my campaign," Beers said of Sandoval's ruling.
Beers said he thinks most of the legislators who also have been employed by the state have "served honorably."
"They certainly are a little freer with taxpayer dollars than I would be, but I don't believe that rampant government growth is what the separation of powers doctrine is supposed to stop," Beers said. "What it's supposed to stop is the concentration of power within a few hands."
The Democrat in the race for Rawson's seat, Todd Allen, said he also will avoid the issue in the campaign. While walking door-to-door in his district, he said, he has not talked to people about Rawson's employment at CCSN.
"The bottom line is people are concerned about issues that affect them on an every day basis," Allen said.
Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, is facing one Republican opponent, veteran and party activist Ken Sondej, who challenged her unsuccessfully in 2000.
Titus, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and one of the affected lawmakers, said she thinks her constituents will vote for her despite the ruling.
"If I say I'm running and I'm not going to abandon my constituents, I don't think they're going to think otherwise," Titus said. "They've trusted me for 16 years."
No one has announced their intention to run against four of the lawmakers affected by Sandoval's ruling, but filing doesn't begin until May.
The four are: Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, a community relations director for CCSN; Assemblyman Jason Geddes, R-Reno, an environmental affairs manager for the University of Nevada, Reno; and Assemblyman Ron Knecht, R-Carson City, an economist for the Public Utilities Commission.
All plan to run for re-election.
Democrats hope to have candidates to run against Knecht and Geddes in the next two to three weeks, said Lindsey Jydstrup, the executive director of the Democratic Legislative Caucus. But the potential candidates were eyeing those seats before Sandoval's ruling came out, she said.
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