Monday, April 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Abortion, one of the nation's most divisive issues, gets another airing when the state Republican Convention opens Thursday night in Reno.
And it's not clear where delegates will land -- pro-life, pro-choice or no choice.
A number of GOP county conventions fiercely debated the issue and gave up.
Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, co-chairman of the platform committee, says, "I don't know if there will be a big debate. The early indications are there is an appetite for something that everybody can live with."
Patty Cafferata, a GOP candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, wants the platform to include a plank opposing abortions.
"I'm pro-life and I would like to see it in the platform," she said. "It's in the national. We in Nevada should follow suit."
Cafferata, who two years ago chaired the state convention, noted, however, that the party "could not reach a compromise, so they took it out" in 1994.
Treasurer Bob Seale, also a Republican candidate for Congress, is pro-choice and he doesn't want to see any mention of abortion in the platform.
"There will be a big argument," Seale predicts. "But government doesn't have any business dealing with this."
The other major candidate in the congressional race, former Assemblyman Jim Gibbons, is pro-choice. He could not be reached for comment.
While these party planks probably don't mean much in the long run, candidates don't want to end up running against a position adopted by party regulars.
In Douglas County and Carson City, two Republican strongholds, the issue was debated to a draw.
"After much discussion at the end of the convention, we left it out," says Joe DiLonardo, a Republican leader in Carson City. "I think it appeased both sides."
McGinness said Washoe County passed "an umbrella-like thing with emphasis on the family." And his own Churchill County didn't take a stance.
"I'm hoping we can avoid a split," McGinness said.
In his review of the platforms adopted by counties, McGinness says he doesn't see much controversy. There's a resolution to oppose interim nuclear waste storage in Lincoln County and one for support of charter schools.
There apparently won't be any major battle over party officers. Cafferata is National GOP Committeewoman but she is not running for re-election. Her mother, retiring Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, wants to be elected to that post.
DiLonardo, co-chairman of the nominating committee, says, "I can't envision anybody going against her (Vucanovich)."
State Party Chairman John Mason of Douglas County is seeking election to a full term and GOP National Chairman Tom Wiesner of Las Vegas wants re-election.
Vucanovich, who is stepping down after seven terms, will be honored at a luncheon Friday.
Among the major speakers at the convention will be President Ronald Reagan's daughter, Maureen Reagan, who is a political analyst; California Treasurer Matthew Fong; and California Director of Social Services Eloise Anderson.
The convention at the Peppermill hotel-casino opens Thursday night with a dinner. Richard Kraus, chief executive officer of Echo Bay Mining Corp., will be the main speaker.
On Friday night, there's a dinner saluting the gaming industry, with Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn as the main speaker.
archive
