Rory Reid up with new ad

By Anjeanette Damon

Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 | 9:32 a.m.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid launched another ad today, sticking with the theme that his Republican rival Brian Sandoval is in league with big banks and special interests.

Reid has earned broad criticism for his earlier ads, one of which used out-of-context comments from an interview which made it seem Sandoval was recruited to run for governor by big bank lobbyists. (Sandoval was recruited by lobbyists, but they aren’t banking lobbyists.)

This latest ad goes after Sandoval for working for Jones Vargas, which represents the Nevada Bankers Association.

“Nevada needs a governor strong enough to stand up to the banks and special interests,” Reid says in his ad. “But Brian Sandoval’s law firm lobbies for every bank in Nevada.”

“Big banks” are easy to paint as the villain in this campaign, as Nevada suffers from the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. Many homeowners are personally fighting their banks in short sales, foreclosures or loan modifications.

Indeed, in the last legislative session, the bankers association actively lobbied against measures to aid Nevadans in the foreclosure process.

But while Sandoval has definite ties to the lobbying profession, Reid does too. His own firm represents banking clients and Reid once worked as a lobbyist. So this line of attack may end in zero sum game.