Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 | 9 a.m.
Here's the campaign slogan that is likely to win the Clark County sheriff's race: I'm not the other guy.
For Undersheriff Doug Gillespie, a police veteran of almost 26 years and with the ivory-tower anointment, it's: I'm not a shady businessman with money to burn on a job he can't manage with credentials that aren't his.
For millionaire businessman Jerry Airola, a sometime cop of questionable qualification, it's: I'm not the good old golden boy who can't change things from inside casino pockets.
Both sheriff hopefuls have already trotted out the trope. Now that the race is down to two ponies, however, the "I'm not that guy" whinny is going to ring even louder.
Gillespie won the primary Tuesday with almost 38 percent of ballots cast. Airola came in a distant second, with about 22 percent. Political observers and campaign consultants had predicted the pair of sheriff hopefuls - no matter how emphatically unalike they are - would be closer in the polls. More specifically, they figured Airola, who financed the lion's share of his own campaign, would do better.
Laurie Bisch, the only woman in the race, proved them wrong. Bisch, a smart Metro street cop who was her own campaign consultant, came within 3 percentage points of taking Airola out. Quite literally, she gave the millionaire a run for his money.
And now Bisch has announced she is supporting Gillespie - no questions asked.
"I'll be damned if I am going to stand by and let Jerry Airola land his helicopter on police headquarters," she said.
That vision had Metro management and police union leaders gnawing at their nails, furious with fear that Airola could buy the election. Bisch, who had nowhere near the money, says enough voters know better.
"This is a serious job," she said. "This is a matter of public safety. Jerry Airola has no chance to beat Doug Gillespie."
Airola spent about $1.7 million on the primary alone - in other words, about $44 for every vote he received. Gillespie spent about $600,000, but his dollar went further - about $9.70 for every ballot marked with his name.
Gillespie conducted cell phone interviews on his way to the movies Wednesday, the first day of a post-primary victory vacation that - between the calls and the questions and the constant campaign - wasn't really a vacation at all.
And so, before the popcorn and privacy of one dark theater, Gillespie spoke of another looming drama - his campaign against Airola.
"I think it's important that I get my credentials out to the voting public," he said. "That's what set me apart."
On Monday, after a quick trip to take his daughter to college in Montana, Gillespie will meet with campaign consultants to start strategizing Round 2 of getting his credentials across.
"And I would anticipate during that meeting," he said, "we'll talk dollars and cents."
Gripping and grinning is an everyday avocation for any candidate dependant on donations, Gillespie said. And he has no illusions that he can raise as much money as Airola can spend. He's also not under the impression that it's a tremendous problem.
"There is an advantage to Jerry Airola for having the amount of money that he does," Gillespie said. "There is an advantage to Doug Gillespie for being the current undersheriff."
Airola has no plans to cut back campaign costs. About the only thing he figures he'll have to cut is more checks.
"The primary was all about personality and getting your name out," Airola told supporters Tuesday night. "The general election will be about the issues."
How much is he willing to spend to get his message across?
"Whatever it takes," he said.
Airola said that he has to use his bankroll advantage to close in on Gillespie's insider edge - in other words, the undersheriff's casino connections, which provided about half of his primary financial support.
"I'm only matching funds," Airola said. "You want to know how much it will cost to win? Ask the casinos."
That's just the sort of soundbite, however, that has political observers predicting Gillespie will get even more munificent support from gaming interests.
The general election, however, may be more about math than money.
If Gillespie can hold his near-38 percent primary base, and capture just half of Bisch's 19 percent primary support, his vote total will be just short of the finish line. And if he can add even a third of the 12 percent of the primary vote that went to former Deputy Chief Bill Conger, Gillespie won't be anyone's "other guy."
He will be sheriff.
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