Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.
Almost half of the contributions going to Democratic state Senate candidate Cedric Crear came from Station Casinos, its affiliates and its executives, according to new campaign finance reports.
About $93,000 of the $209,000 raised by Crear in the Senate District 4 primary comes from the company, whose president, Lorenzo Fertitta, attended school with Crear.
Most of it -- $50,000 -- came from the Fertitta family -- Lorenzo and as his wife, Teresa; his older brother, Frank III; and his father, Frank Jr.
"The Fertittas have been my friends for over 30 years," Crear said. "They wanted to support my campaign and I love them for it."
Other candidates in the race have been critical of the money. Under state law, donors can give a candidate $10,000 -- $5,000 for the the primary election and $5,000 for the general election.
"I have never seen in any race -- local, state or federal -- where one individual gaming company has contributed such a large amount from a company and its major executives to influence an outcome of an election," said Steven Horsford, another Senate District 4 Democratic candidate.
Horsford has his own war chest of $140,660 -- including a fair amount of contributions from lobbying, gaming and union interests.
It's an interesting turn for this Senate district, which was represented by Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, for 32 years.
Neal, a legendary critic of gaming, had such good name recognition that he didn't sweat fund-raising efforts.
Times have changed now that he is leaving the post to run for the County Commission. The Democratic primary to fill his seat, which will likely decide the race, has proven expensive for Horsford and Crear, who have launched all-out grass-roots efforts.
The other three Democrats in the race haven't kept up. Bert Mack, in contrast, has raised $13,690, with $12,640 coming in loans from himself. Linda Howard, a member of the state Board of Regents, has raised $20,672.
Howard has openly called Horsford and Crear the "gaming candidates" and said she would continue Neal's legacy of looking to tax gaming and rebuffing special interests.
Theresa "Terri" Malone raised $26,126 -- she loaned $19,000 of that to her campaign.
Lesley Pittman, the vice president of corporate and government relations for Station Casinos, said Crear has told the company "in no uncertain terms" that he would disagree with them at times if he served in the Legislature.
"He's a quality candidate," Pittman said. "(The Fertittas) support him wholeheartedly. Those contributions are a reflection of that. We wanted to make sure that he had the opportunity to get his campaign message out."
Both Crear and Horsford enjoyed support from other gaming companies. Crear received significant contributions from Harrah's Entertainment, MGM MIRAGE, Caesars Entertainment, the Hard Rock Casino and Tropicana.
Horsford received similar contributions from MGM Mirage, Tropicana, Caesars, the Golden Nugget and Harrah's.
Crear said it is natural for one of the state's largest industries to get involved in the race.
"Gaming is the largest employer of people in our state," he said. "It kind of makes sense."
The race is shaping up to be one of the more expensive primaries, even among other hotly contested challenges.
In Senate District 6 race, which pits Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, against longtime Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, Beers reports raising $120,941, though he reports spending $157,544. Rawson's reports are not yet posted online.
Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, appears to have raised the most money for re-election to the state Senate, with $347,570 in contributions. The fiscal conservative has, however, spent $370,565 to fend off Republican challenger Joe Heck.
In another race looks like it could heat up in the general election, republican political novice Danny Tarkanian has raised $103,125 in his bid to take Senate District 11, a seat now held by Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas. Tarkanian also has received significant contributions from Station Casinos, which gave $10,000; Frank Fertitta III, who gave $10,000; and Lorenzo Fertitta, who gave $10,000.
Schneider has raised $63,150, according to his report.
archive
