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Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Brian Sandoval
Rory Reid
Sun Coverage
Sun Archives
- Rory Reid’s attack ad twists truth, Brian Sandoval’s words (9-29-2010)
- Rory Reid goes after Brian Sandoval over ties to lobbyists (9-18-2010)
- Bill Clinton stumps for Rory Reid, weighs in on economy (9-15-2010)
- Cutting through rhetoric: Did Brian Sandoval or Rory Reid win on the accuracy front? (8-31-2010)
- Beyond the debate, both gubernatorial candidates would cut education (8-30-2010)
- Rory Reid, Brian Sandoval debate on education reforms (8-29-2010)
- Rory Reid’s budget plan for Nevada: All ax, no new tax (8-27-2010)
- Rory Reid’s budget plan: Cut and consolidate but don’t raise taxes (8-26-2010)
- What will voters hear when Rory Reid, Brian Sandoval debate? (8-25-2010)
- What schedules can say about the candidates for governor (8-15-2010)
- No more Mr. Meek: Reid forces Sandoval’s hand with challenge (8-12-2010)
- Rory Reid draws Brian Sandoval into short debate (8-11-2010)
- Sun puts Brian Sandoval, Rory Reid in the hot seat (8-1-2010)
- Candidates for governor answer questions carefully and with few specifics (8-1-2010)
- A comparison of the gubernatorial candidates’ education plans (7-7-2010)
- Brian Sandoval, Rory Reid spar over budget solutions (1-27-2010)
Damon Political Report
Less than two weeks before early voting begins the candidates for governor are paying scant attention to the state’s budget deficit — the issue that will monopolize the first months in office for the state’s CEO.
Rory Reid, the Democrat, has released a budget plan that balances spending with vague assertions about cutting waste and finding efficiencies, combined with a rosy economic forecast.
Brian Sandoval, the Republican, has offered nothing but a promise that at some point between now and Nov. 2 — he won’t say when, exactly — he will unveil a plan.
As the candidates prepare for their second debate, Thursday in Las Vegas, they have yet to engage in a robust deliberation of the state’s future or detailed examination of how they would bridge the state’s projected $3 billion deficit.
Reid is spending his campaign money accusing Sandoval of being too close to special interests.
Sandoval, for the first time, has responded to a Reid attack by calling his opponent a hypocrite for leveling that accusation. Reid was formally a lobbyist and works for a law firm with a long list of powerful clients, Sandoval has noted.
This direct response to Reid and some recent polls signal the race, which at one point had Sandoval up by more than 20 points, has tightened.
One poll last month, by respected Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, had Reid within 6 points of Sandoval. Another survey, by Rasmussen, last week had Reid trailing Sandoval by 13 points.
Those numbers have some observers thinking that Sandoval’s approach — nursing his double-digit lead by avoiding mistakes rather than discussing policy — is wearing thin.
“There’s a perception problem. People are beginning to think there’s an unwillingness (from Sandoval) to debate the issues,” said Fred Lokken, a political science professor at Truckee Meadows Community College. “There seems to be a desire to coast to victory in November. I suspect a growing number of voters in Nevada feel like they’re being taken for granted.”
Sandoval said that perception is untrue. He has a robust, if not exactly public, schedule touring businesses and schools and meeting with groups.
Reid attempted to pressure Sandoval to release a budget plan late last week through a news release and an ad on the Web calling for the Republican to debate the budget.
Sandoval appears content to wait, saying only that he won’t raise taxes and might raise money by selling state buildings and leasing them back from private buyers.
In an interview, Sandoval called Reid’s budget plan “worse than nothing. It’s not realistic. If a governor presented that budget to the Legislature, he’d be laughed out of the building.”
Reid shot back: “We’ve at least had the courage to say something.”
Sandoval has a history of taking his time before taking action. When he was attorney general, the capital media referred to him as “snail-paced Sandoval” for his deliberative process before making a decision.
“I know it sounds trite, but I’m still working on it,” Sandoval said. “I’m not going to put out something that is unrealistic, like the Reid campaign did.”
Reid said Sandoval is running “the most empty campaign in the history of Nevada politics. He’s unwilling to have a substantive debate. I think he thinks that Nevadans don’t deserve to know what he will do.”
But Reid is, so far, unwilling to get into the details of his plan.
Parts of Reid’s budget plan seem unrealistic, such as his promise to cut administrative costs by half and his proposal to transfer $100 million from transportation to the general fund, which would violate the state constitution.
Reid has promised not to cut K-12 or higher education beyond extending the existing furloughs and not to raise taxes. Sandoval pointed out that 55 percent of the state’s budget is K-12 and higher education. He said there needs to be “shared sacrifice.”
Reid’s retort: “I’m not going to debate with myself. Brian needs to come forward. His refusal to do that is the reason his campaign fails.”
Some political observers, though, say voters waiting for that substantive budget debate will likely have to continue waiting. Such back and forth is an inside game, one the general voting public doesn’t care much about right now.
“The voters this year are not focused on substantive policy differences,” said Billy Vassiliadis, a Democratic political consultant who sometimes advises Reid. “Voters are angry. They want to send a message. I think voters will pick who they trust more, or at least who they mistrust least.”
Republican consultant Robert Uithoven agreed.
“I just don’t think people are going to be demonstrating outside his campaign for a budget plan,” he said. “I don’t think the public is going to the polls and voting on a budget plan. They’re going to the polls voting for a candidate they want to see be governor.”
Better knowing what a candidate will do when elected than have another Gov. Gibbons, telling you as little as possible to get elected.
Pathetic "news reporting".........new low.
Nevada's choice;
Another Empty Suit right out of the same mold as Ensign & Gibbons, that is 100% in the hip-pocket of Mining & Gaming, that will follow the EXACT SAME GAME PLAN, which has been ruinous, and who has been coronated and crowned by the same backdoor deal-makers Nevada is accustomed to...
-or-
The goofy looking, bespectacled Son of a Senator.
Give Rory Reid his due.
He had NO SHOT.
NONE.
Yet, he's come out with some credible plans, ON PAPER no less, of what he would try to accomplish as Governor.
A "for the people" plan...
as opposed to a "for the chosen few" plan that Sandoval would MOST CERTAINLY follow to a TEE... That would further erode the quality of life of the Majority of Nevadans...
That's the choice, really;
For the "Chosen Few" Sandoval...
For the MAJORITY of the people Rory...
No wonder the polls are tightening up; I wonder if Sandoval
feels the building pressure to actually SAY SOMETHING...
Both of these guys should specifically detail how they plan to lower the budget deficit-prior to the election.
So we have a choice between a plan that probably won't work and no plan at all. Great news! I suspect that Mr. Sandoval will release his plan on the Sunday before the election when no one will read it and it will be the same "budget plan that balances spending with vague assertions about cutting waste and finding efficiencies, combined with a rosy economic forecast."
All Mr. Sandoval has right now is "that he won't raise taxes and might raise money by selling state buildings and leasing them back from private buyers". Wow! After all these months. Impressive! And clever ideas. Sell buildings after their value has declined dramatically. While that could bring in millions today, we'll have an ongoing payment for each office forever. That's a short-term solution that gets very expensive later as rents go up. And who gets to buy these buildings at a discount? Your contributors?
Mr. Sandoval has had more than enough time to create a budget plan and let us know what it is. His lack of a plan reminds me of John McCain's statement that he knew how to find Bin Laden and Christine O'Donnell's claim about a secret plan by the Chinese to take over the U.S. They both have the information but they can't tell us.
Mr. Sandoval, the state of Nevada has a crisis due to economic forces and bad management by the current leadership (Gibbons and the Legislature). What is your plan to solve it? Or, why should I vote for you and unpreparedness instead of your opponent and his attempt to do something?
I have been tossed as who to vote but as I get closer I rather have a Governor out there attempting to listen and talk about the issues then one hiding behind a lead.
Also the idea of selling the state buildings and renting them back is the worst idea I have heard. A quick cash infusion to save us this year, but then an ongoing expense for the unforeseeable future that will cut into every other program.
We already have one Governor who fails to do anything but get divorced after cheating on his wife, falling off a horse and failing at his job as Governor.
To grow and diversify this state it has to be done with education first, then public safety and finally a good transportation network. With a better educated workforce we attract a diversity of businesses which employees people and with less unemployement and more people working crime usually goes down making public safety easier to achieve.
If you need proof about education first changing an economy look at Findland that has greatly changed its economy. It took a generation to do it, but it is achievable. It takes the entire population to do it from parents, teachers, children, and most important the government leaders to bring forth the change through policies and funding priorities.
"Brian Sandoval, the Republican, <u>has offered nothing</> but a promise that at some point between now and Nov. 2 -- he won't say when, exactly -- he will unveil a plan."
Wake up Nevada! Put the right man in to fix this state. Back to back Gibbons type people will wreck this state. Elect Rory Reid who has laid out his plans for months
It's baffling how politicians can't see what we, The People see. Are they blinded by power? Several of us citizens could get together and go over the state budget line by line and find ways to cut spending and balance the budget. But politicians don't seem to want to do the difficult work.
[...}Reid's retort: "I'm not going to debate with myself. Brian needs to come forward. His refusal to do that is the reason his campaign fails."[...]
Spoken like someone who is not in the driver's seat.
I am baffled by anyone who would vote for Rory simply because he has released some "plans." I suspect that these voters are liberal Democrats who were voting for Rory anyway. That is fine, but don't pretend that these "plans" have swayed you, because if you actually examined the "plans" there would be little to like. These plans are nothing more than desperate campaign tactics. What else was Rory supposed to do? Run on his record?
For example, Rory touts his education plan as the way to reform education. The problem is that Rory is in the pocket of the teachers union (its spokesman Dan Hart even ran a shadow campaign for Rory). Anyone who actually cares about education reform knows that the teachers union is the single biggest stumbling block to real reform.
Rory's budget plan is simply a mish-mash of promises that are mutually exclusive. He is not raising taxes, but he is also not cutting anything that people care about. Fantastic! Promising everything to everyone is not leadership it is pandering.
A "plan" with promises that nobody intends to (or can) carry out is a lie. Rory has proved that he is good at deception.
Finally, the perception the only Rory is campaigning is incorrect. I have seen Sandoval at many more events (and I do not run in GOP circles than Rory). Sandoval is campaigning too, but he does so by visiting the people, not by calling press conferences. Oh, and for those of you who bemoan money and politics, keep in mind that Rory's had a 5 to 1 money advantage after the primaries.
Well reasonrules, Rory has helped balance the Clark County budget for 8 years straight. A budget, I might add, that is bigger than the state budget. So do you vote for the guy who might tell us someday how he's gonna do it or do you vote for the guy who HAS done? Don't let those facts get in the way now
We know Rory has no idea how to manage a budget..look at the trouble he has caused being a Clark County Commisioner.. We have a huge-unmanageable deficit and this happened with him as the chairman. There's no way he can be trusted with the state's budget!
Politico and lv702,
Got links for your competing theories? Thanks in advance.
Politico.. you call a $141 million deficit balancing the budget?
@Politico:
If you are going to give credit to Rory for "managing" Clark County's budget, then you have to also blame him for Clark County's financial collapse. Are you willing to do both? Or are you willing to concede that Clark County's budget is mostly dependent on the whims of the economy and not the brilliance of any one commissioner? Of course, Rory did help negotiate and sign the atrocious union contracts that will ultimately bring Clark County down.
The "fact" of the matter is that Rory has little in the way of actual accomplishments to run on, which is why his campaign has focused on fanciful plans and outright lies (with respect to Sandoval).
By the way, how do you feel about the fact that Rory's lies about Sandoval are so bad that even Ralston has called him out? Are you comfortable with those tactics?
They have nothing...neither one of them.
Nevada (and the rest of the country) is doomed to failure if we keep electing these opportunists and charlatans who offer nothing but the same old lies and promises.
I think Reids only hope is to portray Sandoval as a blindly ambitious job hopper, who really wants to be a Senator. Reid needs to explain that the Governorship is the last stop in Nevada politics for him, because he knows the Senate is not possible. Reid needs to sign a pledge that hew will not run for any other office as long as he is Governor, and he needs to hammer Sandoval about Sandoval's Senate ambitions for 2012 and 2016.
#
Rory's Record of Success
A lawyer and successful business executive, Rory currently runs one of the largest county governments in the nation, providing community, social, and business services to more than 2 million residents.
The county's $6 billion budget is bigger than the state's general fund, and for seven years, Rory has balanced the budget without raising taxes, while implementing a rainy day fund to hedge against economic downturns. And he led the effort to crack down on lobbying, prevent conflicts of interest, and eliminate gifts to elected officials. The Las Vegas Review-Journal called him "ethical to a fault."
http://www.roryreid.com/en/rory
Rory "I'm ashamed of my last name" Reid, giving false hope to his few die-hard fans.
Absolutely no chance he wins. And "you can take that to the bank". Ha!
Politico, you must know that referencing a bio that the Reid campaign put out as a source for your "facts" is pretty bad. You're not helping your case.
I'm very much an independent voter, and I'm leaning towards Sandoval only because I think his education plan is far better than Rory's Edge plan. It means nothing to me that Rory gets his plans out earlier. I do like Rory's ideas on higher education, but I think he'll be too soft on unions and it would just be more of the same, and they'd blame the inevitable poor results on lack of funding.
R. Reid demonstrated an almost complete lack of ethics in a recent ad in which questions and answers from a videotaped interview were transposed and edited to put Sandoval in a false light.
Add to that Reid's most recent ad that completely ignores his own lobbying activity and clients and one must question what new depths of unethical behavior we would see in the Governor's Mansion if he were to win.
Can't wait for Obama to come to come back here soon to rally Reid support. That will certainly be the nail in Harry's coffin.
***"I'm ashamed of my last name"***
How did Pops react?
One if these guys is gonna give it to ya in the keester. Figure it out for yourself!
'The Las Vegas Review-Journal called him [Rory Reid] "ethical to a fault."'
Based upon their bias, how would they know ethical?
We still have no clear idea how either major party candidate for governor would handle a state budget that needs to be cut about in half to be balanced without new taxes. Democrats can hope that their guy would fix things their way. At least their candidate has come out with a "plan" -- vague, but a "plan". Republicans can hope that their candidate would do things their way, but he seems to have just danced around any commitment to anything other than taking a look at things and coming up with a plan when he is elected. As an independent, I find myself needing more than another rosy scenario or getting the regal hand gesture as the royal carriage rolls by in the distance carrying the anointed one to his coronation.
OK maybe we have a budgeting problem that makes things look worse than they are, but, it seems that the best case is that we have to cut about a quarter of the budget immediately, and the worst case could require cutting well over half the budget. Either way, Nevada would be seriously crippled. The trick will be to cut so that the damage is temporary, not permanent. Isn't that worth some straight talk by a would-be Governor?
The GOP logic - I don't think the public is going to the polls and voting on a budget plan.
BawHaHaHa!!!
No the voters don't care how you're going to balance the budget. They don't care if you want to raise taxes or cut their favorite program.
No GOP plans. Just get Angry and upset that you have a problem. Vote because your angry don't vote for a plan.
I want to know why nothing has been said about the other candidates for governor. Do any of them have plans? Or at least ideas? Do any of them represent a different way of thinking?
So far I've been most impressed with Art Lampitt: http://www.artforgov.com
He might not have all the answers, yet, but he wants to see pot be legalized. He can't be all wrong thinking like that. :)
Rory Reid for Governor? He can't run Clark County, how can he run the State of Nevada?