She considers herself to be a "daughter of Eastern Avenue". She grew up off Eastern Avenue. Her campaign office is now on Eastern Avenue. And she vows to represent "Eastern Avenue values" should she be elected into Congress.
Erin Bilbray is now running in the 3rd Congressional District, which spans from Laughlin to Summerlin. And the Eastern Avenue corridor is probably the beating heart of this district. But last weekend, Erin Bilbray ventured to another iconic Southern Nevada street, Las Vegas Boulevard, to address the Clark County Democratic Party Convention.
On Saturday, Bilbray explained her "Eastern Avenue values". And she drew a stark contrast between her values and her opponent's.
Bilbray described the current state of Congress. She hinted at her opponent's contribution to that current state of Congress. And she talked about what she wants to do in Congress and how she wants to change the climate of Capitol Hill should she arrive there next year.
Make no mistake. Another hot campaign season is simmering in NV-03. Expect to see plenty of signs along Eastern Avenue, as well as all the other major thoroughfares of NV-03.
Erin Bilbray has been touting "Eastern Avenue values". It's not just about that street. It's about the communities along that street. It's about the people who commute to & from work along that street. And it's about the reality of the 3rd Congressional District that's seen up and down Eastern Avenue.
And ultimately, this campaign may be won or lost on Eastern Avenue.
Late in 2010, it looked like she was approaching the end of the road. She had lost a hard fought reelection race. Between that and narrowly losing the statewide gubernatorial election of 2006, plenty of political pundits were declaring the death of Dina Titus' political career.
Obviously, they spoke too soon. The following year, redistricting changed the game. And Dina Titus was ready for a comeback.
She did face a rather interesting race in 2012... But she ultimately won. And not only did she win, but she dominated. And she definitely made her way back to Congress.
And since returning to Congress, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Paradise) has been working quite hard on a number of criticalissues. And she hasn't forgotten why she's there in the first place.
Last Saturday, Rep. Dina Titus came to the Clark County Democratic Party Convention and addressed the crowd. Some of them were her former constituents, while others are her current constituents. Regardless, she wanted to fire them all up and get them ready for the 2014 cycle.
While Rep. Titus herself doesn't have to worry about her reelection race this year, she does seem to want to return to a Congress that's actually functioning. And that means her work is not yet finished. It's far from the end of the road for her, or for her fellow Nevada Democrats.
Let's just say his district has been through a lot lately. Nevada's 4th Congressional District has only existed since 2012, yet it's now becoming famous across the nation. But sadly, that fame is at least partially due to Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of "outlaw cowboys".
Last week, the Bundy Gang again made news when they descended into total armed madness. Think "Lord of the Flies: Nevada Edition". They threatened each other. And they've been wreaking havoc throughout the Virgin Valley.
Law abiding residents there have had enough of the armed madness. And so has their Member of Congress, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas). He addressed the Clark County Democratic Party Convention on Saturday... And didn't hold back when he mentioned the #BundyRanch fiasco that's still plaguing his constituents.
And he didn't stop there. Rep. Steven Horsford has been working on a number of critical issues since arriving in Washington 16 months ago. And he hasn't let anything stopped his work, not even #BundyRanch.
On Saturday, Rep. Horsford also talked about what he wants to accomplish in Congress. And yes, this means he wants Congress to start accomplishing good, meaningful things again.
Rep. Horsford hasn't forgotten why he was elected to Congress in the first place. It's about public service. It's about serving the people. It's about serving the community.
Nevada's 4th Congressional District has only existed since 2012. And Steven Horsford has only been in Congress since 2013. But already, he's making his mark on Capitol Hill. And he wants his constituents to know he hasn't forgotten why they sent him to Congress in the first place.
It's about public service. And even during these trying times for Nevada's 4th Congressional District, Rep. Horsford refuses to let up on doing his job.
In so many other parts of the country, 2010 was a bloodbath for Democrats. Yet here in Nevada, it wasn't so bad. In fact, all four incumbent Democratic statewide officers won reelection. State Controller Kim Wallin was one of them. And she really put things into perspective in her speech to Clark County Democrats on Saturday.
2010 was a critical election for Nevada's future... And so far, 2012 is looking to be at least just as critical (if not even more so). Wallin made sure the crowd got that.
This was the big event of the afternoon session of the Clark County Democratic Party Convention. After visiting the Washoe Democrats' Convention Saturday morning, Shelley Berkley flew back to Las Vegas to chat with her "hometown crowd". And interestingly enough, Shelley had a special message for the friends, neighbors, and activists who know her best.
It was interesting to see Shelley Berkley take a strong progressive populist turn in her speech. She hit on saving Medicare & Social Security (instead of destroying them, as Dean Heller seems to want to do), creating more green jobs by investing in renewable energy, standing up for veterans, and putting working class families over Wall Street's wishes & "tea party" extremism. As you can see above, she covered a whole lot of ground on Saturday (and in more ways than one!). Get ready for a(nother) real barnburner of a Senate race coming our way.
Late in 2010, folks were wondering where Dina Titus could go after her razor thin loss to Joe Heck. Early in February 2012, we all realized where she's headed: Back to Congress. It's been an epic journey for Dina Titus, but it's still not quite over yet.
Even though it's likely Dina Titus will be back in Congress representing NV-01 by this time next year, she doesn't want to stop there. Dina doesn't want to go to Washington alone, and she made that known on the convention floor yesterday.
Outgoing Nevada Assembly Speaker and likely NV-03 Democratic nominee John Oceguera (D-Paradise) delivered the first headline speech at the Clark County Democratic Party Convention yesterday. He reminded the audience of what he's up against and why his race won't just be one of the hottest races in the state, but also a race that may determine the country's future.
This is "The Quintessential Swing District" that can turn on key issues, and I suspect that's why Oceguera hit some key issues in his speech yesterday. After all, Joe Heck now has a record he has to run on. He touched on the "War on Women", "Ryan-care" vs. Medicare, health care reform, and green jobs, as all of them are likely to play big roles in this year's campaign.
Oceguera gave a good speech yesterday. We'll have to see how he goes toe-to-toe with Heck once the general election officially begins.
Both Berkley and Horsford spoke powerfully about protecting Social Security and Medicare, and about rejecting "tea party" extremism. And while the crowd has thinned a little since lunch break, the room here in The Riviera's Convention Center still looks pretty full... And the room is still getting riled up by powerful speeches.
Oh, and by the way, President Obama will be getting all of Clark County's delegates to the state Democratic Convention this June. Surprised, anyone?
Again, I'll have videos from the speeches available later this weekend. Stay tuned for more.
I'm at the Clark County Democratic Party Convention today. And here's what the crowd looks like in The Riviera on the Las Vegas Strip.
And here's who we've seen here so far today.
Oh yes, it's that exciting!
NV-01 candidate Dina Titus and NV-03 candidate John Oceguera have just made their keynote speeches, as well as Nevada State Controller Kim Wallin (D). Oh yes, and have you noticed all the people here?
We have plenty of Legislature candidates (all Democrats, of course), as well as local candidates. And please keep looking at #CCDP2012 on Twitter to see what's happening. Contrary to what a couple naysayers said early this morning, I'm not seeing any "death" or "emptiness" here. It's quite exciting, so I should probably get back to it. Keep following me @atdleft on Twitter, and I'll be back here at the blog later to share some exciting video from today.
On Thursday, the Culinary again went sideways, scheduling a rally at Red Rock Resort the same night the property was hosting a big fundraiser for Bishop Gorman, the Catholic high school, at which the Engelstad Family Foundation was to be honored. [...]
To Taylor, however, this is all just noise.
“We have a very different view of time,” said Taylor, the union’s longtime leader.
“If somebody told me we’d have a six-year strike at the Frontier, I would have said, ‘I don’t think so,’” he said, referring to the legendary walkout of the now imploded property.
If the Fertitta brothers, who control Station Casinos, seem dug in, the workers are just as hunkered down, Taylor said.
“Those workers are not going anywhere, and they feel very strong and they’re extremely determined,” he said.
And even some of the traditional splits of the labor vs. management fight have been shaken up. Harry Reid has apparently expressed concern about how an extended Culinary vs. Station fight court hurt Las Vegas' image to tourists and conventioneers, while Bishop Gorman's President actually reached out to Culinary to ensure their protest last night could go on as scheduled (without interfering with their fundraiser).
And this war is not just being fought in the media. Culinary has called out Assembly Member Marcus Conklin (D-Las Vegas) for doing a fundraiser with Fertitta family members (one of them being a former Station Casinos executive), This is increasingly high stakes because Conklin wants to become the next Assembly Speaker, but he must first survive a tough reelection campaign in what's now a tossup district. I'm sure he must have appreciated the Clark County Democratic Party passing this resolution in support of Culinary 226, collective bargaining, and workers' right to organize and form unions. (Snark... And by the way, I'll do a disclaimer and note that I'm a member of the Clark County Democratic Party Central Committee.)
Even the AFL-CIO, which once had hard feelings over Culinary's parent union joining with SEIU in breaking away from the AFL-CIO several years back, is now teaming up with Culinary to take on Station Casinos and prevent Station from encouraging union hotels on The Strip and Downtown from going after their unions when contracts are up for renewal. National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka was at the Red Rock Rally last night, and he told the media last night that the AFL-CIO is even considering a national boycott of Station Casinos. This is obviously becoming very high stakes for both sides.
And really, this is high stakes for Southern Nevada in general. On one hand, there is reason for concern as both Culinary and Station continue to up the ante in their ad wars and media skirmishes. As Las Vegas' gaming & tourism sector is finally starting to see a steady recovery, do we really want to put that at risk with an extended labor-management dispute?
However, we also can't forget this. Coolican finished his latest Sun column by noting this.
In the end, Taylor’s effectiveness can be found as plain as day in the contracts his members have secured. Our room attendants make 30 percent more than the national average, and unlike many of their peers, they have excellent health benefits secured by the Culinary contract. Those higher wages are also enjoyed by workers at nonunion hotels such as Station and Las Vegas Sands properties because they have to offer good pay to attract good workers.
Station has a lot of advantages in this fight. But don’t expect Taylor or the union to back down. Ever.
Believe it or not, we're unique in making these jobs ones with living wages. In almost every other part of the country, hotel workers are considered "lucky" if they're paid above minimum wage. And make no mistake about it, this is a big deal. Because union workers on the Las Vegas Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas do earn a living wage, they can afford to spend more and contribute to the greater Nevada economy. Even the non-union shops, like Station and Las Vegas Sands, have had to raise wages and benefits to remain competitive with union friendly casino operators like MGM Resorts and Caesars. But if Station "goes nuclear" on Culinary and encourages other companies to turn anti-union, then our entire economy is at risk of collapsing over the collapse of well-paying, stable union jobs.
There's really a whole lot at stake for all of us in the Culinary vs. Station fight. And we simply can't afford for the workers to lose this one.
Last night's State of the Union speech was quite the event... But Washington wasn't the only city where fireworks were flying. I was at the Clark County Democratic Party's and Nevada Stonewall Democrats' State of the Union watch party in Downtown Las Vegas. So was Fox 5.
Take a look at the photos here. The crowd Downtown clearly wasn't upset. Clearly, the folks inside were fired up and ready to go!
Actually, the excitement began on Saturday, when over 12,000 Democrats caucused. And considering this was technically uncontested (President Obama won over 98% of delegates available), it's quite impressive compared to both the Republican (which was also uncontested) AND Democratic (which WAS contested!) Caucuses of 2004. The base turned out, and the base is getting excited.
And plenty of local Democratic luminaries turned out for the festivities. NV-01 candidate Dina Titus, SD 11 candidate Aaron Ford, AD 21 candidate Steve Parke, Las Vegas Municipal Judge candidate Jerry Tao, and Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Zach Zaragoza were among the heavy hitters who joined Clark County Democratic leaders and Stonewall members for this special event. But again, look at the above video and photos. The room wasn't mostly full of politicians. The room was filled with everyday grassroots activists who truly breathe life into the party.
Last Friday night, Clark County Young Democrats had our inaugural meeting at the outdoor amphitheater overlooking Pittman Wash in Henderson. As you can see below, our meeting grew quite lively.
There was free flowing discussion, an exchange of ideas and experiences, and real, honest dialogue that was a refreshing break from the "politics as usual" that I encounter throughout the week. Oh, and did I mention yet that John Oceguera stopped by early to chat with the group? OK, so the politics did ratchet up at some point... But even that was done in a way not typically found in most political club meetings.
There was talk of "why we are Democrats". I heard plenty of support for basic principles of equality and working for the greater good. I couldn't help but think of the madness infecting Washington as we were all discussing progressive values, and it made the evening gathering that much more poignant.
It's so easy to look upon current events and be discouraged. But upon leaving the gathering Friday night, I was suddenly feeling encouraged. Perhaps we don't have to fall into further madness. Perhaps our future leaders really do want to make this world a better place, and perhaps they understand how best to make it happen.
Hopefully, this will develop into a much celebrated and beloved monthly tradition. Keep tabs on CCYD's Facebook page to keep up with what's happening and find out about future events. You seriously won't regret it.
We saw a number of fantastic speakers that evening. Al Gore rocked the house with his speech, and Dina Titus and Shelley Berkley had a great response to Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter hanging around with nutjobs (mostly from out of state) over here last weekend. Kim Wallin, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Kate Marshall all brought the house down with their speeches... And reminded us how fortunate we are to have some smart, sane people in Carson City keeping the state running (and keeping "Luv-Guv Gibbons" in line).
Oh, and when Harry Reid spoke, he gave an update on Lana and Landra. It's good to know they're recovering, but Landra will need more surgery for her facial and back injuries. And it was really powerful in reminding us why it was so important to get health care reform moving this year. When he spoke of the bills, I could tell good things are on the way for Nevada and the country.
OK, so I didn't really take notes and all I had was my camera phone. Sorry about that. But hey, after everything in Searchlight I needed to take it a little easier!
And by the way, major props to Progress Now Nevada for selecting me as one of their "blogger winners" to sit at their table on Saturday night! It was great to finally meet Erin Neff in person, and what our table lacked in closeness to the front stage we more than made up for in intelligent conversation and all around good times. Thanks! :-)
