Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 10:55 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller says he has "been chompin' at the bit" to run for Congress in two years and he expects a "wide open" contest for the Republican nomination next year.
Heller, 44, and in his third term as secretary of state, said he would have run last year if Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., had chosen to pursue the U.S. Senate.
Now Gibbons has set up an exploratory committee for the 2006 governor's race and his wife, former Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons, R-Reno, has announced she will run for her husband's position.
Heller said, "I don't believe in family dynasties" referring to the candidacies of the Gibbons. But Dawn Gibbons said Wednesday, "This isn't about dynasties. It's about public service."
Heller says the GOP primary may cost $1 million. He said he never raised any money in the last election and has no campaign funds left. But he said he already has commitments of $250,000 to $300,000 from unidentified groups who support him.
His biggest efforts in the next year will be raising money, learning the issues and studying the records of his opponents, Heller said.
Dawn Gibbons said she doesn't have any money. She said Heller's wife, Lynn, inherited money. She said she would have to get her money by hard work and "shoe leather."
Heller was asked by reporters that if elected, would he do the same thing as the Gibbons -- Jim lives in Washington and his wife lives in Reno with the children. Heller, who has four children, replied "I will not be an absentee father." He said his family would move to Washington with him.
Heller said both Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval support him.
In Heller's press release, Guinn is quoted as saying, "Dean has done an excellent job as secretary of state dealing with the critical issues important to the citizens of this state." He said Heller has been in the lead in getting electronic voting machines with a paper trail in the nation. The governor said, "I am confident Dean could represent Nevada with the same distinction in Washington, D.C."
Heller said, "He (Guinn) supports my candidacy." But he added that Guinn is free to change his mind.
Heller and Sandoval this week traded barbs over an investigation into Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief. But Heller said Sandoval "supports my candidacy for Congress. Brian and I get along. I just have questions about his staff."
Sandoval, reached after the Heller announcement, said, "I think Dean Heller would make an excellent congressman for the people of Nevada." He added, "Given my current status as a potential federal judge, I cannot take any official position. But I an excited for him (Heller)."
Congressional District 2 includes all of Northern Nevada and a slice of Clark County. At the November election, there were 189,308 registered Republicans to 141,269 Democrats.
Heller said he has heard that State Treasurer Brian Krolicki, Controller Kathy Augustine and Assemblywoman Sharron Angle R-Reno, might also be interested in seeking the GOP nomination. He said some "wealthy" Republican might get in the contest, thinking he could buy the seat but he said he did not have any names.
Besides the $1 million predicted for the primary election, Heller said he would have to raise several hundred thousand dollars for the general election contest.
Heller is prohibited by the Nevada Constitution from running for another term as secretary of state. Krolicki and Augustine also cannot run for re-election.
He said he would have delayed an announcement until the spring but then Dawn Gibbons got in the race. Asked if he would abandoned his bid for Congress if Jim Gibbons decided to seek re-election, he said there was a "clear message" that the congressman is running for governor once his wife entered the contest for the House of Representatives.
Heller said he opposes the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. He said he supports the No Child Left Behind law if it is fully funded. He said he is not ready until he does more study to take a stand on the issue of allowing people to invest part of their Social Security money on their own.
Thirty years ago Heller's father, Jack, ran for the state Senate from Carson City as an American Independent Party candidate and lost. Heller said his father, who owned an auto repair business, was first a Democrat, then an American Independent and is now a Republican.
Heller was raised in Carson City, graduated from Carson High School, gained a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from USC and worked as a broker on the Pacific Stock Exchange. He returned to Carson City to work as deputy state treasurer for Treasurer Ken Santor.
Santor of Reno said Heller was a "good employee" and a "quick learner." But he added, "So much for party loyalty," referring to the challenge of Dawn Gibbons.
Heller resigned his job in the treasurer's office and served two terms in the Assembly. During that stint, he worked for the Bank of America. He then left the Assembly and was elected secretary of state in 1994. There is a two-term limit on state officials but Heller was in office when the voters approved that constitutional amendment.
He said his office is the only one in the nation that offers a money-back guarantee that if a corporation or security issue is not done within two week, the filing fee is waived. As an assemblyman, he said he pushed through a bill to protect the Public Employees Retirement System from raids.
Former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, a Democrat, said this morning that she is "keeping all options open" and may yet run for the Congressional seat now held by Gibbons. "It's too soon," to make a decision, she said.
She said she considered a bid for the Senate in the past but not the House of Representatives.
Del Papa, a Reno resident, served one term as secretary of state and three terms as attorney general before retiring two years ago.
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