Live blog: Reid and Sandoval close most contentious debate with exchange over budget

By David McGrath Schwartz

Published Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 | 4:18 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 | 7:23 p.m.

Posted at 7:18 p.m.

This debate, clearly the most contentious, climaxed with the candidates asking questions to each other.

Sandoval asked Reid if he would continue the lawsuit against federal health care legislation.

“No I would not,” Reid said.

The moderator asked, “Do you want to elaborate on that?”

“No I would not,” Reid said, avoiding further discussion of the legislation that his father, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid passed through Congress.

Then it was Reid’s turn.

He brought up the 10 percent budget cuts (which the Las Vegas Sun has written about) and listed a series of proposals — eliminating property tax and rental assistance for seniors, dentures and hearing aids, eliminating home health care workers. Reid asked if Sandoval supported those cuts, and if not, what he would cut.

Sandoval did not get into specifics. He said spending would have to be rolled back to 2007 levels, when revenue was about $5.2 billion. He said that except for Medicaid, caseloads have been about the same, while state spending has gone up by $2 billion.

Reid interrupted.

“What you going to cut, Brian. What you going to cut?”

Sandoval was quiet and the moderator told Reid to let Sandoval regain his train of thought.

He said he would be “up front with the state of Nevada.” Reid, Sandoval said, has promised to hold higher education harmless, K-12 harmless and health care harmless, all while not raising taxes. “He’d balance the budget through fantasy money,” he said.

Posted at 6:52 p.m.

Reid continued to go after Sandoval’s lack of a plan and brought up his promises to release a budget plan repeatedly since this summer. He also accused Sandoval of wanting to let local governments raise property and sales taxes.

Sandoval did not deny that. But he pointed to a Las Vegas Sun questionnaire in which Reid supports giving local government home rule. (Reid later pointed out that his budget plan doesn’t rely on shifting services and taxes.)

Reid said under Sandoval, corporations would not get any tax increases. He said when he wakes up at 2 a.m., "I hear a voice saying it — that his real intention is to raise your property tax, raise your sales tax."

Sandoval said, “With all due respect, I don’t dream about you.”

Reid said, "Those aren’t dreams. They’re nightmares."

Posted at 6:36 p.m.

A mining industry representative — remember, this is in Elko — asked if the candidates would support targeting an industry for a tax.

Both said no.

Sandoval pivoted to Reid’s momentary statement that he’d sign a budget with a tax increase.

Posted at 6:32 p.m.

Reid attacked Sandoval for quitting his jobs and challenged Sandoval to promise to serve a full term.

"Your experience is the experience of the biggest quitter in the history of Nevada,” Reid said. “Why is that? Are you motivated by ambition or some other thing?"

Sandoval fired back that Reid was questioning his integrity.

He said he was proud of his history as a legislator, gaming regulator, attorney general and federal judge.

He noted that Reid’s father, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, recommended him for the judge’s job. "He never questioned my integrity," he said.

He said he left the lifetime appointment on the bench because he saw a leadership void.

"The easy thing to do would have been to stay on the bench and have that lifetime appointment and that job that I loved," he said.

He did not directly commit to serve out his term, but has in prior interviews.

Posted at 6:16 p.m.

Rory Reid came out aggressively against Republican Brian Sandoval, hammering the GOP frontrunner for not presenting a plan on jobs, the budget and proposing to cut $533 million.

Reid, in a move reminiscent of his second debate, held up a legal pad (white, instead of yellow this time) and declared Sandoval's lack of details "shameful."

"I think you should be embarrassed by that," Reid said. "I think your plan is not to say anything and waltz into the governor's mansion."

Sandoval ignored Reid's taunt and stayed on message. He said Reid would support a budget that included higher taxes.

"Raising taxes on struggling Nevada businesses and families would be the worst thing we could do," he said.

In response to a later question on education, Sandoval circled back and said Reid's plan "doesn't add up." It uses a rosy economic situation, savings from modernization and efficiency "that is simply not there" and some unconstitutional budget transfers, he said.

Posted at 4:18 p.m.

The candidates for governor will have their third debate tonight in Elko, with sources close to Republican Brian Sandoval's campaign saying they expect their candidate to offer more details on how he would balance the state’s budget.

Democrat Rory Reid, a Clark County Commissioner, has criticized Sandoval for promising but failing to deliver a budget plan. The state’s next governor will be thrown instantly into the problem of a nearly $3 billion shortfall before the 2011 legislative session, which starts in February.

Sandoval has suggested that part of his plan to balance the budget without raising taxes is to give services and the authority to raise taxes to local governments.

Sandoval has defended his tardiness by criticizing Reid’s budget plan, which relies on a sunny economic turnaround and vague promises to cut waste and inefficiencies in state government.

Sandoval campaign spokeswoman Mary-Sarah Kinner refused to say when the campaign would release a budget plan. Polls have shown Sandoval consistently ahead of Reid.

But a campaign source, speaking on the condition on anonymity, said Sandoval will discuss details of the budget tonight and again Wednesday, when the two candidates debate in Reno.

Tonight's debate begins at 6 p.m. and can be seen statewide on NBC affiliates.

The budget discussion became, at least in theory, more tangible when state agencies earlier this month released recommendations at a 10 percent cut level, which would only close a portion of the state’s budget gap.

Among those cuts would be closing four of seven museums in the state, closing a prison, cutting rental and property tax assistance for seniors and eliminating home health aids to keep the disabled and elderly out of nursing homes.

Neither Reid nor Sandoval has addressed that list of 10 percent cuts.