Buckley looks back on session at town hall
Assembly speaker thought to be considering run for governor
Leila Navidi
Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley speaks at a Henderson Democratic Club meeting June 3 at the Painters Union Hall in Henderson.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 | 10:48 p.m.
Sun Coverage
The 2010 race for governor feels like it has begun during the past 24 hours.
Although she declined to fully commit to running, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley sounded like a candidate as she extolled achievements during the recent legislative session and spoke of the need for a new governor. She spoke to about 75 activists at the Henderson Democratic Club Wednesday night just 48 hours after the session concluded Monday.
Meanwhile, Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, another Democrat with eyes on 2010, hired a bevy of top-notch consultants to do his media, polling and mail, as reported by Sun columnist Jon Ralston.
Although Henderson is Reid territory, Buckley received a warm reception in what could be the first of many town halls during the next 17 months as she considers a run to become the state's first woman governor.
"I just have to say thank you," said a state employee in a union T-shirt. "I'm so impressed. My question is, when is Speaker (Buckley) going to announce her run for governor?"
Buckley said she would plan her son's 10th birthday party and go to Disneyland first.
Buckley was also challenged for not doing more this session, during which legislators passed a bipartisan budget and tax bill that will raise about $1 billion in new revenue but also makes deep cuts to K-12 education, higher education, social services and state worker salaries.
She said they did what they could given the political reality, the "tyranny of the minority," as she called it, referring to the need to win two-thirds majorities to pass a tax increase. She said the state will need to both diversify its economy and broaden its tax base beyond gaming and sales taxes to prevent the type of fiscal crisis that has beset the state for nearly two years.
The speaker, who has a long legislative resume that includes health care, consumer protection, affordable housing and education, also said she favors annual legislative sessions to do the budget, as well as a state lottery to raise revenue. She said her biggest regret this session was the inability to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto of her bill to create a special rainy day fund for education, which sought to prevent cuts to schools in the event of another fiscal crisis in the future.
Gibbons will face Republican primary opponents. He has accused Buckley of being a tax-and-spend liberal and will likely continue to do so in the coming months.
Discussion: 2 comments so far…
Post a comment
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Metro admits to improper release of criminal history data
- Locomotives win inaugural UFL championship
- Wonder drug for men flops, suggestive ad campaign coming under scrutiny
- Was a foiled bank heist a cry for help?
- If Palin’s book is so bad, then why is it a best-seller?
- Q&A: MMA fighter and Playboy model Latasha Marzolla
- CityCenter: One man’s concept of a real city
- UNLV recalls last year’s close shave at Louisville
- Metro corrections officer remembered for his love of family
- Live game blog: Bellfield, UNLV come through late, upset No. 16 Louisville
Blogs
The Kats Report
Could a savior of shuttered Las Vegas Art Museum be ... Peter Max? (6 Comments)
For Paul Stanley and KISS, rock and roll is not over (6 Comments)
Twenty years ago today, Human Nature took root on the farm (1 Comment)
Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch
Photo Gallery: Donny Osmond’s triumphant return to the Flamingo
The Kats Report
'DWTS' champ Donny Osmond still deft afoot in return to Flamingo (8 Comments)
Politics: The Early Line
Meeting of GOP governors draws challengers, not Gibbons (5 Comments)
Politics: Ralston's Flash
Oscar loves forcing developers to sign labor peace agreements, Culinary loves the city's downtown plans and all is forgiven (10 Comments)
Calendar »
- 29 Sun
- 30 Mon
- 1 Tue
- 2 Wed
- 3 Thu
-
Tahoe Takeover at The Bank
The Bank | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Playboy Club model search
Playboy Club | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Queen of Queens at Revolution Lounge
Beatles Revolution Lounge | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Zowie Bowie's Vintage Vegas Show at Monte Carlo
Lance Burton Theater
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati










I've voted for Barbara Buckley since she was first elected in 1994, and I will work my tail off for her in her primary against boy Reid. The good ole boys have run our town and our state for damn too long. Time for Barbara to shake 'em up!
Buckley is personally reponsible for the tax hikes we will all be paying after July 1... including the payroll tax. All layoffs after July 1 can be traced right back to Buckley and her greed for higher taxes for more welfare programs like the one she runs (that's called a conflict of interest, but no one in Nevada seems to care about that sort of thing.)