Editorial: Jill Derby has the backbone the state needs in its Representatives

Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006 | 7:28 a.m.

When Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., decided against seeking re-election from the mostly rural 2nd Congressional District and instead opted to run for governor, many political observers thought the district would be easily won by whomever won the GOP's primary. There are many more registered Republican voters than Democrats, but the Democratic nominee, Jill Derby, has a real chance of winning. It's easy to see why.

For starters, Derby, a fourth-generation Nevadan who grew up on a ranch, has deep ties to rural Nevada. She understands the concerns of the residents of the expansive district that covers most of Nevada. Derby is fiscally conservative, criticizing the Republicans for running up huge deficits and foolishly passing off this debt to future generations.

On foreign policy, she believes a new course is needed in Iraq as well. She says she will be an independent voice for Nevada, and there is nothing about her that would lead us to believe otherwise.

Her Republican opponent, Secretary of State Dean Heller, at one time was viewed as a moderate, but this campaign has exposed a very different individual. Now, suddenly, he is portraying himself as a right-wing conservative and a cheerleader for the Bush administration. Nevadans don't need a representative like that.

We need a representative with backbone who is willing to oppose the administration when it's in the interest of our state and nation. Derby definitely would be a voice of independence.

The Sun endorses Jill Derby.