Tuesday, May 30, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.
Let the political potshots begin in the Clark County recorder race.
With embattled Recorder Fran Deane out of the race (and under investigation), the recorder's contest is off to a hot start with a field of 10 candidates.
Some already are attacking the two candidates who many consider frontrunners in the race - Republican Charles Harvey, second in charge at the recorder's office, and Democrat Debbie Conway, the county's business development manager, who already has the backing of several county commissioners.
Realtor Kevin Child, a Republican candidate who has support from many in his party, is attempting to align Harvey with Deane, who Metro Police are investigating for allegedly selling early access to public documents.
"This guy was working next to her and he didn't see what was going on?" Child said. "Why didn't he blow the whistle? Was he in cahoots with her?"
Other candidates are echoing those questions.
"I don't necessarily think it's a good thing to be touting your being a part of that office," said Richard Deeds, another Republican candidate.
But Harvey, who has spent about six years in the recorder's office, called those attacks unfair. His competitors know there is an ongoing investigation and that he cannot talk about his involvement, he said.
"My opponents don't really have any idea what I did or didn't do," Harvey said. "I am cooperating fully with the investigation."
Nearly every candidate in the race wants to implement new technologies to help make the office more efficient.
Deeds criticized Harvey for not getting that done.
Again, though, Harvey said his hands are tied.
"I have to run those up the flagpole to the recorder who ultimately makes the call," he said. "At a certain point, my hands are tied."
Deeds also attacked both Harvey and Conway for their closeness to County Manager Thom Reilly and some county commissioners, noting that those people have lobbied state legislators to combine the recorder's office with the clerk's office, essentially making the recorder an appointed position.
Harvey and Conway, however, say they would oppose an attempt to make the recorder an appointed job.
Unlike those in the recorder's contest, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid will get a free pass in the November election now that his only Republican challenger, Chuck Hurley, has dropped out of the race.
Hurley, an application supervisor for the county's information technology department, initially promoted himself as someone with a "different view" than Reid, the son of Sen. Harry Reid.
However, Hurley withdrew from the race without so much as a press release. Attempts to reach him last week were unsuccessful.
Now, the only thing standing between Reid and re-election is his Democratic primary opponent, Matthew O'Neil, whose phone number as listed with the county election department is out of service. He has not returned e-mails from a reporter.
Reid said he has no idea who O'Neil is.
Still, Reid is taking no chances. His campaign war chest boasted about $1 million according to his most recent campaign finance filings and he has retained veteran Democratic campaign consultant Dan Hart.
The other two commissioners seeking re-election - Lynette Boggs McDonald and Myrna Williams - both face several opponents.
One of Williams' opponents is 20-year-old UNLV student Priscilla Flores.
Former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller defended his actions this week after initially lying to the Sun about his authorship of a negative campaign mailer that he crafted for Flores.
"It may offend some power brokers, but extraordinary methods must be used to overcome the million-dollar campaign war chests of incumbent politicians like Michael McDonald and Myrna Williams," Miller wrote in an e-mail. "Otherwise, anointed candidates always prevail."
The mailer - which bore a striking resemblance to earlier anonymous mailers and phone calls that went out to district residents - included photos of Williams with her eyes closed during a commission meeting and Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani standing in front of a blackboard that reads, "We have the right to use marijuana."
Miller initially denied authorship, but confessed that he wrote the hit piece after being confronted with the fact that an electronic copy of the mailer listed him as the author.
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