PRECINCT 3351 LOOKS LIKE PRIME STUMPING GROUNDS.

By Marshall Allen

Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006 | 7:30 a.m.

The residents on Terrace Green Avenue and Bridge Creek Street seem like prime pickings for a politician on the prowl. They live in an affluent neighborhood. They're bright, diverse, successful, and voting records show they're faithful to the ballot box. And they're on top of major issues facing the country: illegal immigration, homeland security, the war in Iraq.

But ask these voters about what's happening in Nevada and you're likely to draw a polite, blank stare.

Their ignorance or disinterest in local and Nevada politics - including Tuesday's primary - is one of the few things these neighbors have in common.

This is precinct 3351. It's roughly at the intersection of Sahara Avenue and Hualapai Way. The homes are situated in a 1989 development called Lakes West, a neighborhood made up of about equal parts Democrat and Republican. According to political consultants, the voting patterns here may reflect final election results.

We cast our net on two adjoining streets - Terrace Green and Bridge Creek - where the residents are about equally split between the two parties.

Using a list of voters, we identified the 18 households who voted in the 2004 presidential election. We knocked on doors to find out what's on their minds.

We were invited inside seven homes and met 11 people: seven Democrats, three Republicans and an independent.

And this is some of what we learned:

These were all nice people. Here's a sampling.

Mona Clare Finnila

On a stormy night five years ago, Mona Clare Finnila and a fellow passenger were commiserating about a flight delay at the Philadelphia airport. The man said he needed to be back in Nevada the next day for a speaking engagement. Who are you? she asked.

And that's how she met Sen. John Ensign.

But the chance meeting didn't inspire Finnila, 69, to engage in the state's political process. She says she's so ignorant about local issues she needs to find a trusted guide to bring her up to speed. She feels bad about her lack of knowledge because she wants government to adhere to her desires and protect people - but she's not keeping her side of the civic bargain.

"Sure I have the guilt, but it's an old guilt because it's been happening for so long," she says.

Finnila and her husband, Charles, have lived in Las Vegas for 14 years, a dozen of them on Terrace Green. She's a pediatric nurse practitioner and a registered Democrat, though she also is fond of the Green party.

"I obviously think about children's educational and health issues," Finnila says. "There isn't enough money for immunizations, for dental care and medical care - I'm concerned that families can survive."

She thinks her detachment from local politics is symptomatic of living in Las Vegas. She grew up in Pennsylvania and is better connected to the local politics scene there, she says. In Pennsylvania, the back yards were connected. There were no high walls between neighbors like the ones in Lakes West.

So people back there would talk to each other. They'd talk politics.

"Here you can only see to your property line," Finnila said. "And there're no front porches. It is the nature of Las Vegas."

James and Susan Ellison

James and Susan Ellison are frustrated swing voters. He's a Democrat, she's a Republican, but neither follows the party line.

"If you're asking me why I'm a Democrat, I couldn't tell ya!" James says, throwing up his hands. "I have absolutely no party affiliation right now. No loyalty toward either one. It depends on the person."

James, 63, retired after 30 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Susan, 57, is a Realtor. The couple have lived in their three-bedroom home since 1997. He looks like a former cop - thinning gray hair and a thick moustache, wearing a sweat-stained Marine Corps ball cap. He also served four years with the Marines. He's warm and hospitable to a guest, but his attitude toward politics is no-nonsense.

So far the Ellisons say they haven't spent much time thinking about the coming elections. Both are cynical about politicians and the system. Even the good candidates have to compromise too much to get anything accomplished, Susan says.

"To be perfectly honest with you, there're not too many people I would vote for since I've been here," Susan says. "I feel most of them are not worthy of a vote."

She complains that the local politicians don't seem to think about what they say or do. They say what they say just to get votes but ignore issues. Susan says she's heard of teachers getting arrested for sexually assaulting children, and no one's brought the issue up. They should.

Even the candidates are getting into trouble, she says. They can sound good one day and be the subject of an expose the next. "You kind of get confused," she says, sounding exasperated.

James says he's frustrated by politicians' inability to fix some of the country's obvious problems. Social Security and the health care system need reform. There should be alternative energy sources so the country isn't so oil-dependent.

Some politicians "have been in so long they've become calloused," he adds. "They've lost the true picture of what a politician is supposed to do."

James' disgust with career politicians may come into play in the race between Porter and challenger Tessa Hafen, a former press spokeswoman for Reid. James previously voted for Porter, but no matter. He has not heard much about Hafen but likes that she's young and has never held office. It might be a good idea, he says, to get "some of these old codgers out of office" and bring in some newcomers with new ideas.

James believes the country is doing the right thing in Iraq - "you've got to take the fight to them," he says - and is tough on crime. He has been following the sheriff's race and will ramp up his information-gathering for the other elections, he says. He is looking for candidates who demonstrate honesty and integrity.

The couple says they'll focus on the general election. Susan Ellison says she will continue to follow the national issues. In Nevada, politicians "could be there one minute and indicted the next," she says. "You get tired of reading that."

Bernard and Sally Pincus

Bernard and Sally Pincus were imbued with a sense of political responsibility by their parents. Unlike their neighbors, the Pincuses, ages 86 and 85, have already voted, though they keep their choices private. The registered Democrats say they always vote by absentee ballot. Always. Never miss a primary or general election.

Now they rest at a table in their kitchen nook. Bernard's walker stands beside him. A bad spine has slowed him; so the couple's outings are mostly confined to his medical appointments. Outside the window, a pool and spa offer cool relief in the midday heat. On the wall a knickknack plaque declares: "Sally's kitchen."

The Pincuses moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, where Bernard spent 40 years in the film industry.

The couple attributes their political involvement to an old-fashioned upbringing framed by the values of the World War II generation. He was introduced to politics as a 9-year-old, when he joined his father's get-out-the-vote effort - banging pots and pans in the back of a truck that trolled Cleveland neighborhoods.

Sally's parents were immigrants from Poland. She says they repeatedly said "You've got to vote! You've got to vote!" because such privileges weren't available in their homeland.

Near the living room piano, a leather-bound copy of the New York Times from Aug. 31, 1941 - their wedding day - rests on an easel. Grandchildren's portraits hang on the wall. The couple have been together so long they finish each other's sentences.

They say they vote out of concern for the country's future.

"We try to figure out what we can do " Sally says. Bernard finishes: " to make things better for the next generation."

They discuss political articles and decide together how to vote. Bernard fills out his ballot first, then Sally completes hers. Their views generally fall left on the political spectrum: they support abortion rights, unions and gay marriage - and Bernard is a passionate critic of the president and the war in Iraq.

"I still think it was all because of oil," he says. "I think Mr. George Bush is on the way to bankrupting the country. He is a liar."

The Pincuses are dismayed when they hear that many of their neighbors do not know the names of their congressional representatives. At first they're critical.

"I say they're in another world," Sally said.

"Immediate satisfaction," Bernard says. "They don't care about anything other than themselves."

Then their tone softens as they consider how challenging it is to stay on top of the issues. The ballot is too long and filled with the names of so many candidates, Sally says. It took the Pincuses four days to study and complete their ballots.

"I imagine a lot of those people don't have time to do it," Bernard says.

Sheila Rouglios

Sheila Rouglios still quakes when she thinks about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Rouglios was living near San Francisco at the time and ended up in management for American Airlines in the Bay area. She's now retired after 40 years with the company.

Rouglios says, "9/11 did a big number on me, and I was very pleased with the way Bush handled the situation. I lost friends on 9/11."

Rouglios, 64, and a registered Republican, puts a premium on preventing another attack. The Democrats don't seem to share the conviction about homeland security, she says, but for the Republicans it's still at the forefront.

The war in Iraq is certainly a "quagmire," and she says she'd like to see America get out, "but my feeling is we have to start someplace."

"I just think if we don't do it now, we're going to have another 9/11," Rouglios says. "I was in Europe last year when the London train (bombings) happened. I find myself getting really emotional about everything in this area. When that happened I was a wreck."

Rouglios is sitting at her dining room table, wearing a "God Bless America" T-shirt. Her husband, Sarantis, is traveling in Greece, his homeland, and the couple's fluffy dog, Deetze - Greek for "little baby bear" - is resting on the carpet. A grandfather clock stands in the corner of the living room.

Rouglios says she was born into a family with conservative views. But they grew even deeper when she was a flight attendant for Ronald Reagan during his gubernatorial campaign in California.

"I was just enamored with the guy," she said. "He was very much fun to be around. He didn't isolate himself, always wanted to be where people were chatting."

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks cemented her devotion to the party.

On several important issues, Rouglios does not toe the conservative party line. She doesn't hold strong beliefs about abortion or stem cell research. And her personal experience with her gardener (she calls him "my dear Antonio Valadez") has her second guessing hard-liners who would advocate criminalizing illegal aliens. She suspects the gardener is here illegally, but she respects his hard work ethic. Her husband finally insisted on boosting the man's pay from $30 to $40 a month, she said.

The Rouglioses moved to Las Vegas two years ago because they love the local entertainment. Since she's retired she can watch the news channels - CNN and Fox - though she's recently become enamored with CSPAN.

When asked whom she likes in the governor's race, Rouglios smiles.

"Who is running again?"