Vol. 5, No. 20
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August 15, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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Election 2008, Part Two
In Full Swing
National Conventions
Take Center Stage
The Nevada Primary Election is over (See feature article), and the full brunt of Election 2008 is hitting home with the national conventions right around the corner, and a blitz of local, regional, and national advertising already underway. There have been a few little things from the primary that are a bit interesting, like small turn out, which isn’t unknown in Nevada elections, and always the claims of election fraud.
Early voting turn out was good, which is something that has been becoming a very real part of elections in the last few years. Many don’t want to wait for election day, and jump in right away. Early voting also is a boon to those that travel, have busy business schedules, and for some, enjoy the socializing that seems to be a large part of the process.
One Initiative Already Out
The initiative petition that was going to be offered by the union representing the dealers at Wynn Resorts of Las Vegas has been withdrawn, giving the Nevada Resort Association their first big win of the election cycle. Wynn Resorts has been forcing the dealers to share their tips with their supervisors, and the initiative would have stopped the process.
The casinos of southern Nevada are opposed to the petition and threatened court action with a secondary threat that if the union lost in court it would be responsible for all legal costs. The union said that threat effectively forced them to withdraw the petition since the union did not have the financial resources to pay all legal costs if they had lost.
Now the fear is, at least from dealers around the state, that many other casinos and resorts will force, not just dealers, but all workers that earn tips, to share with their supervisors. Many casinos have tip sharing policies, but they are limited to those that earn tips, that is, waitresses share with waitresses, bartenders with bartenders, and so forth. Only Wynn Resorts, so far, force their dealers to share with their supervisors.
Money, Money, Money
If you were bidding on a job, that is, spending money to get at job, would you bid more than that job pays in annual salary? Apparently those running for a seat on the Nevada Supreme Court would.
• Nancy Allf has raised $490,000 in the Primary Election cycle
• Don Chairez loaned his campaign $135,000 from his own private funds
• Deborah Schumacher has raised $318,000 including a loan from her private resources
• Kris Pickering has raised over $556,000
The top two, and will face each other in November. I wonder how much will be spent in these coming months?
Getting Smacked Around
James Smack was a Republican candidate looking to unseat fellow Republican Dean Heller from his District Two Congressional post, and ran “smack” into what is becoming known as the GOP Old Guard, those that don’t believe in change, if you will. Smack, and his campaign bosses including the Terhune family, was part of the contingent that forced some rules changes during the state GOP convention that riled the old guard to the point they closed the convention.
During Smack’s campaign for congress, he found out how the “set in stone” old guys give their pay back. He wanted to use the auto dialing and recorded message system the party operates and was simply told “NO”. His campaign manager asked why and was hung up on. We’ll hear more from Smack and the Young Turks in upcoming election cycles.
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