Are Nevada Republicans' Woes Now Spreading to #NVLeg?

I guess Dean Heller isn't the only Nevada Republican who's panicking. State Senate Republican leader Michael Roberson (R-Henderson) is scrambling to form new PACs (so late this cycle??!!) to funnel money into attack ads on TV and in mailboxes "efforts to inform voters". And especially with recent voter registration updates showing big gains for Democrats in the key swing districts that will determine control of the Nevada Legislature this tear, a group of G-O-TEA State Senate candidates are starting to panic as well. And funny enough, this is being televised statewide.

Monday night on Jon Ralston's show, SD 9 Republican candidate Mari St. Martin conjured up some nonexistent "SCANDAL!!!" in hopes of deflecting attention from her lack of knowledge on how this state's government works.

On other topics, St. Martin said she would look at sponsoring legislation to require each agency to “justify its existence” in front of the Legislature every six or seven years, on a rotating basis.

An incredulous Ralston asked if that included agencies like the Gaming Control Board. St. Martin said, yes.

[SD 9 Democratic candidate Justin] Jones didn’t like that idea.

“It would cost more money to have the Gaming Control Board, the Gaming Commission come and justify their existence,” he said. “It doesn’t make a lot more sense.”

The state formed a Sunset Commission to look at doing away with unnecessary boards and commissions in 2011.

So not only does Mari St. Martin want to do something that the Legislature actually already did last year, but she wants to waste the state's time and money to "justify" the existence of things like the agency that oversees the largest and most powerful component of Nevada's economy. WHAT??!! No wonder why she has to conjure up fictitious "SCANDAL!!!"

And in case that wasn't embarrassing enough for Nevada Republicans, outgoing Assembly Member and current SD 18 candidate Scott Hammond (R-Las Vegas) caused even more trouble for them.

[Kelli] Ross, a Democrat who owned an electrical contracting business, said on “Face to Face with Jon Ralston” that the state needs to stop redistributing Clark County money to other areas of the state.

“So much money gets sent to Northern Nevada and rural Nevada,” she said. “The money needs to stay in Clark County. We’d be able to have smaller class sizes. Kids will be able to have desks. That’s reprehensible.”

Hammond, the Republican candidate, dodged the question about whether Clark County was losing out to other areas of the state, and said he favored giving parents a choice in schools.

Perhaps Ross was being a little too harsh on the north, but the fact of the matter is that Clark County provides for over 80% of the state's revenue and over 70% of the state's population, yet we're lucky if we even see 50% of the state's investment and expenditures return here. The median of public infrastructure investment is already woefully low in Nevada, yet it's even lower here in Clark County because the south has historically been shortchanged in Carson City.

Even though Scott Hammond has already served a term in the Legislature and now wants a promotion to the upper chamber, he can't give an answer on the discrepancy in state funding? Seriously, is this dude for real?

But wait, it gets worse! Hammond himself is a teacher, yet he's now positioning himself to the right of Governor and fellow Republican Brian Sandoval on education funding.

Hammond, a Clark County School District teacher, said he would not be beholden to unions. But he also wouldn’t commit to extend about $600 million in taxes, which he voted to extend for two years at the end of the 2011 Legislative session. Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he will support extending them again, but will need a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

“I’ve never officially said anything to anybody,” Hammond said in the interview. He wants to see what type of tax projections the state’s Economic Forum, which forecasts tax revenues, makes over the next couple of months.

This is especially a huge blow to Governor Sandoval because Hammond was backed by Sandoval in the SD 18 Republican primary because he was considered more "cooperative" than professional "tea party" flame thrower Richard MacArthur. But apparently now, Hammond is drinking the "TEA"... And he's doing so just as Sandoval's preferred budget is starting to fall apart. Even though both he and Roberson decided to let the sun rise again on the 2009/2011 "sunset taxes" in order to diffuse this specific issue of public education funding, Hammond is signaling that the G-O-TEA Caucus may not go along with their leaders' preferred plan, especially now that Sandoval's plan may not be enough to prevent further cuts to schools next year.

Perhaps this gets us to the biggest problem that Nevada Republicans face in their quest to expand their ranks in the Legislature next year: Who is their real leader? And what do they stand for? No, really. Mitt Romney may end up being a political millstone around their necks, Brian Sandoval's master plan is showing major cracks, and now their caucus can't keep with a unified message on what they seek to do next year. This is a major problem for them.

And perhaps this explains why there may be no SD 5 debate on TV this week. Perhaps considering what's already been going down on Ralston's show, Steve Kirk just doesn't want to risk going "Face to Face" with Joyce Woodhouse? Wow, what a mess.

#NVLeg: Lay of the Land in SD 5

We've talked plenty before about the fiercely competitive race to control the upper house of the Nevada Legislature. And perhaps of all the hot #NVLeg races not in Washoe County, the race in Senate District 5 will very much come down to what happens in the field.

Last Saturday, Joyce Woodhouse (the Democratic nominee in SD 5) did another precinct walk. However, this was not just any precinct walk. Twenty-five Henderson firefighters joined Woodhouse to walk about a dozen precincts in SD 5 in Henderson.







Between recent "tea party" fueled attacks on firefighters (along with many other public servants) and State Senate G-O-TEA Leader Michael Roberson (R-Henderson; he himself narrowly defeated Woodhouse 51-48 in the old and slightly more GOP friendly SD 5 in 2010) announcing plans to attack workers' rights next year if he becomes Majority Leader, it looked like these Henderson firefighters were stirred into action. And they were ready to fight back. Although Roberson himself won't be up for reelection until 2014 (in the new SD 20 formed from the southern portion of the old, "super sized" SD 5), (the compacted Silverado Ranch to Green Valley north of I-215 to Old Henderson) SD 5 presents a key opportunity. Not only can they avenge Roberson's narrow of defeat of Woodhouse, but they may very well prevent Roberson from becoming Majority Leader by propelling Woodhouse back to Carson City.



Obviously, Nevada workers see a whole lot at stake in SD 5. That's why they took to the streets. And really, there's no better way for them to score a win here than to work the field.

After all, field matters. Democrats have already been working the field at the top of the ticket, but they haven't been alone. In fact, Joyce Woodhouse walks herself almost every day. And as she's been talking to voters throughout the district, she's been engaging in the kind of valuable face to face voter contact that just can't be replicated or imitated by any billboard, mail piece, or TV commercial.

So far, voters have been expressing their concern with the state of our schools, as well as what's happening with the overall economy. A few voters have even mentioned their frustration with the state's unfair tax code. And again, these conversations are so valuable because they allow for the kind of dialogue and interaction that one can not reach with TV ads or roadside signs. And believe it or not, many voters actually appreciate this dialogue (and prefer this to generic TV and mail ads).

Occasionally, I've seen flyers for Steve Kirk, Woodhouse's Republican opponent. They look quite generic, basically proclaiming him as "Generic Conservative Republican". While he clearly has some people out canvassing, it's unclear as to what kind of impression he's making on voters. While he's spent plenty of money on those flyers, as well as roadside signs and mail pieces, he hasn't really spent time engaging in any dialogue with local voters. If this continues, both he and Michael Roberson won't like the results in November.