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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Feature Story:
Analysis
Primary Election 2008
And Its Consequences
Turnout Among Smallest
In State’s History
by Johnny Gunn
The weather cooperated, the candidates did their best to make you feel comfortable voting for them, but it seems that apathy may have been the watchword for the 2008 Nevada Primary Election. Early voting was sporadic and slow, absentee voting numbers were low, and turnout was down from the expected 25 percent to somewhere around 15 percent to 17 percent. There has been talk that this may have been the lowest primary election turnout in, if not history, then for many years.
Some big names in Clark County politics went down in flames, and in Washoe County, one big name survived while another didn’t. From a voter’s stand point, the results of the Primary would make the General a fun fest immediately. Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio survived the Republican Primary and a strong campaign fought by former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle.
Long time Assemblyman John Marvel will not find his name on the ballot come November, but former Republican Assemblyman Don Gustavson will. That district, #32 (Rural) covers a broad areas from Battle Mountain in the east to Sparks in the west. There were allegations that Marvel, a land and tax attorney was behind the effort to get Governor Jim Gibbons’ property tax on a 40 acre plot in Elko County reduced to about $15. Ethics charges are pending, and some feel this led to Marvel’s defeat.
Republican Assemblywoman Francis Allen in District 4 suffered the consequences of a bad temper and stabbing her new husband with a steak knife. Voters didn’t much care for that behavior and tossed her out in favor of Richard McArthur. Assemblyman Bob Beers made ranking members of his own party angry enough that they did not support his bid for reelection, and he was soundly defeated. The legislature will have several new faces come February, and some will be there for the last time because of term limits, including Raggio.
The upcoming legislative session, beginning in February 2009 will have economic problems to solve, education problems to solve, and questions of how Nevada’s tax base might be improved. The budget shortfall stands at about $1 billion, and state agencies will have to be prepared for even more cuts if the state’s and nation’s economy doesn’t improve. Nevada’s education system can only be described as being in a shambles if major national reports can be believed and the state’s children will suffer for the rest of their lives because of their second rate education. There have been calls for the state to hold hearings on how the tax base of the state could be improved.
At this time, Nevada’s coffers are filled by way of sales taxes, gaming taxes, business taxes, and industrial, mining, and agricultural taxes. Some say the state relies too heavily on sales and gaming taxes, and a broader approach might resolve problems such as the state is facing at this time. The 2009 Legislative Session could be one of the most important in recent memory.
The congressional races will all be hot issues this November as all three seats will have strong contenders from both major parties. In the First Congressional District, Shelley Berkley easily won her Democratic Primary contest with Mark John Budetich, Jr., and will face Kenneth Wegner on the Republican side.
In the Second Congressional District, incumbent Dean Heller won his Republican Primary defeating first time candidate James Smack. Heller will face long time democratic politician Jill Derby who did not have a primary contest. Derby and Heller fought a hard campaign two years ago, and this year, Derby has a much better chance of winning the seat since the election rolls indicate more democrats have registered during the last two years.
Another hard fight is expected in the Third Congressional District where incumbent Jon Porter won his Republican Primary Porter will face former Nevada Senator Dina Titus who won the Democratic Primary. The district is mostly a city district, small in geographic size, and the registration rolls favor the democrats. Porter was the first person to sit in the district after it was added to Nevada’s seats eight years ago.
The three house seats will probably generate a considerable amount of attention from the national parties. Nevada’s delegation is split with two republicans and one democrat, and the republican party will probably pump money into the campaigns to protect what it has. Many feel that Berkley’s seat is fairly safe while Heller’s and Porter’s might not be as safe. Both Heller and Porter have solid war chests full of money, but so do Derby and Titus. How much the McCain-Obama campaigns will reflect on the congressional races is also part of the debate. The current Nevada Congressional Delegation is fully opposed to the Yucca Mountain project while McCain favors Yucca and Obama does not.
The race for Justice of the Supreme Court, Seat B was very tight with Kris Pickering and Deborah Schumacher winning the right to be on the November ballot. Pickering had 25 percent of the vote, Schumacher had 24 percent, and Don Chairez and Nancy Allf each had 22 percent. None of the above had seven percent meaning that the race could have gone to anyone of the four if those seven percent had picked someone.
In Clark County, the races for District Court Department 23 and for Family Court Department K were closely watched because of problems with the sitting judges. In Department 23, Judge Elizabeth Halverson has been temporarily removed from the bench because of ethical charges and hearings are taking place at this time. She was soundly defeated in the primary. Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio is facing sexual abuse allegations, and the voters sent him packing as well. Halverson only received ten percent of the vote and Del Vecchio received 23 percent.
The turn out for Primary 2008 may have been among the smallest in history, but the consequences of that vote may also be among the most important. Let the games continue.
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