Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Democratic candidates go head to head

"There you go again" is a phrase that evinces scowls and sighs from Democrats, who remember - if only unconsciously - Ronald Reagan using the line to great effect in presidential debates.

So it was odd to hear Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson use it in a debate Friday with his opponent in the Democratic primary for governor, Sen. Dina Titus of Las Vegas, especially considering one of his chief liabilities among Democrats: The perception that he's not really a Democrat.

It was a small but telling detail, but there were others that were larger. On the issues of campaign finance reform and ethics - which Democrats across the country have embraced - and a woman's right to an abortion, Gibson didn't have much to say that would attract Democratic voters.

Still, Gibson has a smooth and rich TV presence, a Nevada bronze hue and quality hair. He looks like a governor.

The debate really began Thursday, when Titus, who's the Senate minority leader and a professor at UNLV, stood in front of the Clark County Detention Center and offered up a "12-Step Plan for a More Ethical Nevada." The first step in her plan is to "Acknowledge that there is a problem" a jaunty reference to the 12-step addiction programs.

It was all gimmicky theater, perhaps, and the plan has a "well-duh" quality to it: More disclosure, no more gifts, no more giving checks to local government if you have a zoning issue before the city council.

But it was smart politics, regardless, especially on the day before Friday's debate, the first televised head-to-head between the two. (Part one of the two-part debate aired Friday night on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channel 19. Part two is Monday.)

Not surprisingly Ralston raised ethics as the first issue, pointing to the 12-step plan. Gibson tried to counterpunch.

"I think this is politics," he said. "I don't think much has been accomplished - 16 years, and now we're seeing this."

In fact, Titus has a history of proposing ethics reform in her 16 years in the Legislature. In 1991, for instance, she sponsored legislation, which eventually became law, prohibiting lawmakers from accepting speaking honoraria, which had been a back-door method for paying off legislators.

The Gibson campaign found its footing after the debate, rushing out a press release noting an ethics bill passed the Assembly unanimously last year, only to die in Titus' Senate committee without any protest from her.

During the debate, however, Gibson was hampered by the lack of a detailed plan of his own, although he did call for a ban on gifts last month. When asked whether he would support any of the Titus plan, he was boxed in. . He wound up saying he could support more disclosure and a ban on cash campaign contributions.

Both candidates are in the awkward position of talking about ethics when both have accepted large bundled donations from rich developers. The Fertitta brothers, Lorenzo and Frank III, and their Station Casino entities, gave $40,000 to Gibson and $25,000 to Titus. Gibson also received $150,000 from the developer Tony Marnell, who's building the M Resort in Henderson.

Another subject was also unhappy ground for Gibson. How much of a Democrat he really is.

"I've been a registered Democrat," he said. "I've worked for Democrats. I've worked on Democrat issues."

All true, but the problem is, Republican consultants have instructed their clients to refer to the "Democrat Party" and "Democrat issues" because public opinion polls say the phrase has a pejorative ring to voters. For Gibson to say he's worked on "Democrat issues" will strike some of the faithful as - literally - tone-deaf.

On abortion, Gibson was trapped by a previous appearance on "Face to Face" in which he said he could support a ban on abortions, except in the case of rape, incest or to save a woman's life. Later, his spokesman said Gibson is opposed to criminalizing abortion.

Friday, he said he's not an "activist" on the issue and would never propose changing the law, both of which allow him wiggle room. Then he said he would never criminalize abortion. The exchange couldn't have mollified the party's abortion-rights wing.

For her part, Titus picked up on the latest trend among Democrats, started - or at least made fashionable - by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. "I hate abortion. Abortion is terrible. Everybody hates abortion," Titus said, while telling viewers that the Supreme Court is bound to return the abortion question to the states .

Titus had a few rough patches. She likes to tout legislation she sponsored that saved Red Rock Canyon from development and the coalition she gathered to do it: "A coalition of people from bird-watchers to mountain climbers to bike riders to horse lovers." In fact, those kinds of people could gather at the REI store in Green Valley, and they don't represent nearly enough Nevadans to elect her governor.

Although nearly everyone in Nevada agrees that education is one of the most pressing problems, during the debate, neither candidate offered any big vision. Gibson proposed only a volunteer program to get senior citizens into schools, while Titus wants teachers more involved in education policy.

If Titus and Gibson can't distinguish themselves on education, such a signature Democratic issue, what issue will they run on in November?

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