Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
View more of the Sun's opinion section
For all the commotion around the four biggest election issues facing Nevadans — the races for the White House and U.S. Senate, and the ballot questions to close loopholes on gun-purchase background checks and to legalize marijuana for recreational use — we mustn’t lose sight of the down-ballot races. At the end of the day, they may have a greater impact on our lives. We’re talking about improving our schools, diversifying our state’s economy, fixing traffic congestion, addressing mental health and finding ways to pay for all these things.
Early voting begins Saturday, and our entire list of endorsements will be published online that day. We’ve already made our case that the experienced and level-headed Hillary Clinton belongs in the White House, and that the unprepared, narcissistic Donald Trump is morally and emotionally unfit for the office. And we’ve endorsed former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto for the U.S. Senate because she would watch out for women, continue the fight to keep nuclear waste away from Yucca Mountain and work for immigration reform with a path toward citizenship. We don’t have that confidence in Joe Heck, and don’t get us started about his allegiance to Trump until finally even he had enough of The Donald’s vulgar habits and abandoned him.
On Question 1, we’ve explained our reasoning for closing loopholes in background checks for gun purchases: Society has to shut down the unregulated sales of weapons out of car trunks and from unlicensed sellers at swap meets. Yes, marijuana possession and use should be legalized (Question 2), because it’s less dangerous than booze and deserves to be decriminalized. Voters should welcome the opportunity to buy electricity in a competitive marketplace (Question 3, “Energy Choice”). Let’s drop the sales tax on some medical supplies (Question 4) and keep the small, inflation-indexed tax on gasoline to keep up with road repairs (Question 5). Five questions, five yesses.
In the election of trustees to the Clark County School District school board, we support the return of the two incumbents on the ballot, Deanna Wright and Patrice Tew. (Two other incumbents won back their seats by securing a majority of votes in the June primary.) But our endorsement comes with disappointment that the school board seemed to have been unengaged, both with its hired executive, Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky, and a legislative advisory committee, when discussing how to reorganize the district for it to be more responsive to its urgent needs. If ever there was a time for trustees and their chief executive to have a robust, public dialogue about the direction of the district, it was then. Instead, the school board failed to take ownership of the issue and weigh in heavily with what it believed would be in the community’s interest, after what should have been a healthy, frank and open discussion with the superintendent. Instead, the board offered only a meek, late voice to the discussion with legislators. Come on, trustees, find your voice on behalf of the people who look to you for leadership.
In the election of a regent to help oversee the Nevada System of Higher Education, the voters have two distinct options. We like them both, so we are not endorsing one over the other.
On one hand, the incumbent, Michael Wixom, an attorney, has experience on the job. He was appointed to the seat by Gov. Kenny Guinn in 2005 and has been elected and re-elected — each time without opposition. This time, he faces a newcomer who, in the primary, spent no money but nonetheless got more votes than Wixom, who is 60. They’re now facing off.
That challenger: Patrick Carter, 36, who oversees several academic degree programs at the Art Institute of Las Vegas. Carter, who has advanced degrees in marketing and business administration, says he would strive to provide a better voice for higher-ed students.
The Board of Regents is searching for a chancellor to replace Dan Klaich, who quit this year after he was caught writing a memo involving university funding and trying to pass it off as the advice of a consultant. At the time, Wixom said, “Let’s not define the chancellor for some of his mistakes. Let’s define him for his hard work and his dedication to the state of Nevada.”
Both men say high school students need to be better prepared for college, where too many classes focus on remediation. Carter says there needs to be more workforce training, and that regents need to hold the chancellor more accountable, as opposed to the largely free rein the last two chancellors have enjoyed.
Wixom has served the board well; Carter would provide a fresh outlook and new energy. We are fine with either option.
The Sun strongly encourages, for the State Board of Education (which oversees K-12 public schools), the election of Tim Hughes for the open seat in District 1 and the return of Felicia Ortiz to District 3 and Mark Newburn to District 4. Each of the three has already shown energy and devotion toward our school children and would serve wisely.
We are comfortable with each of the incumbents on the Clark County Commission being returned for another term — and expect that they will give serious thought to the role of light-rail transitfrom McCarran International Airport to downtown and beyond, in order to keep us competitive with other major convention destinations.
For the Legislature, we are biased toward Democrats, primarily for their support of the most important resource for Nevada’s future: our children. Education reform, and funding, remain the highest of priorities, and we were aghast when conservative Republicans tried to undo the funding plan proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval to pay for education reforms that he proposed and the Legislature adopted. Sabotaging the funding of those reforms only undermines our children and our future. Among Republicans we support for the Assembly: Artemus Ham in District 5 and Melissa Woodbury in District 23, for their families’ long ties and ongoing dedication to the community.
Our final recommendation — no, it’s an admonition — is that you vote, either during early voting or on Nov. 8, and responsibly exercise one of the most precious rights afforded us.
