Cegavske, Peterson locked in campaign rife with attack ads

By Erin Dostal

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010 | 2 a.m.

While political fists are flying on the national stage among Sharron Angle, Harry Reid, Dina Titus and Joe Heck, some local races are being played out with equal ferocity and brute advertising.

Campaign mailers in state Senate District 8, which includes Summerlin, say incumbent Republican Barbara Cegavske supports giving guns to convicted rapists. Another ad depicts her holding a stack of money and claims that while middle-class families suffer, Cegavske voted in 2007 to give $44 million to cigar-smoking, big-bank fat cats.

The first ad is false, according to Cegavske and gun-law experts in the state. The second, Cegavske said, refers to a Senate bill that would have repealed fees that banks paid to the state. The intent was to save rural banks that had so few customers the fees were forcing them to close branches.

Cegavske, who is seeking a third term, laughs off the negative ads.

“Go ahead and get me on my record, that’s fine,” she said. “But to make stuff up, or say something so outrageous, is ridiculous.”

In District 8, an obscure but important race, it makes sense to attack Cegavske on her record — she has one. Democrat Tammy Peterson — a litigator for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck — has never held office.

In the district, Democrats hold a slight advantage in voter registration. Of 48,235 registered voters in the district, 19,352 are Democrats and 18,899 are Republicans. It’s a swing district within a swing state, said Eric Herzik, a UNR political scientist. It’s a campaign Democrats deeply want to win in hopes of reaching a two-thirds majority in the Senate, thus having power over the budget, the ability to override the governor’s veto, and more influence over redistricting.

“At the start of every season you see some races where you see that it’s possible (to win),” Herzik said of the Democrats’ strategy. “The registration numbers aren’t that wide, so Cegavske was seen as potentially vulnerable.”

The attack ads, distributed by the state Democratic Party, are not affiliated with Peterson’s campaign and are independent expenditures, according to Alisa Nave, political director of Nevada State Democrats, a group separate from the state Democratic Party.

Still, Cegavske said, Peterson should tell those who are distributing the ads to ease off. Peterson said her campaign didn’t pay for the ads, so they’re not her responsibility.

“It still represents Tammy,” Cegavske said, adding that she has asked state Republicans to keep campaign ads on her behalf positive. “I’d rather lose than lose my dignity.”

Peterson’s campaign has sustained some negative, stealthy advertising, too. A fake website, tammypeterson.com, was released against her. It has no connection to Cegavske’s campaign, Nave said.

“If you go on there, you can see they pilfered my picture and pilfered my original message,” Peterson said. Her real campaign website can be found at petersonforsenate.com.

Peterson, 40, who got her law degree from the University of Arizona and has a bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA, grew up in Las Vegas. Her mother was a teacher who became a professor at UNLV. “I’ve taken a lot of those things I’ve learned from her,” she said.

Peterson is married and has a 4-year-old son.

Cegavske, 59, moved to Nevada from Minnesota 37 years ago. She was elected to the Nevada Legislature in 1996. After one term in the Assembly, she ran for the Senate and has served two terms, becoming the minority whip.

Cegavske is married and has two grown sons who attended Nevada public schools.

On the issues, Cegavske and Peterson differ but aren’t completely at odds. Both favor streamlining state government by getting rid of unnecessary organizations and functions.

Peterson used to be a prosecutor for the Las Vegas Special Victims unit, where she dealt with cases of child homicide and sexual abuse.

“As your state senator, I will make the laws that protect our children stronger. And there will be no second chances for people convicted of abusing a child,” her website says.

Peterson is running as the self-proclaimed “leader our children deserve.” She said that one way to make sure Nevada will grow is by making sure “we save our education system.”

When it comes to education, Cegavske supports allowing teachers to have independent contracts with schools, and allowing parents to choose their children’s schools.

“This will create competition within our public education system and lead to a better education for our children,” her website says.

Cegavske said her answer for the state’s budget is simple: “Live within your means. Spend what you have.”

“You can’t have people’s wish lists,” she said.

Peterson said the state could save money by consolidating redundant or similar programs, such as Nevada’s Wildlife Department and its Natural Resources Department.

Cegavske said the state must decide what responsibilities should be local concerns. For example, she said, teachers and schools should determine textbook expenditures and class sizes based on their specific needs, not what the state says.

Peterson said she would be open to raising taxes if streamlining doesn’t solve the state budget deficit. But, she said, she favors zero-base budgeting, a method by which departments prioritize projects they want funded. The goal is to avoid wasteful spending.

“We need to make sure we’re getting what we’re paying for,” Peterson said.

Cegavske said she would not vote to raise taxes.

“I honestly don’t know who we would raise taxes on,” Cegavske said. “This is not the time to raise the revenue. People are struggling to keep their homes.”