Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
While portraying himself as an independent Democrat, state Sen. Bob Coffin will attempt to paint Rep. John Ensign as a big-monied political insider whose vote is for sale.
From the doorstep of his Las Vegas home, Coffin formally launched his campaign Monday to unseat the freshman Republican this fall in the 1st Congressional District. The front-lawn gathering included many of Southern Nevada's most prominent Democrats, including Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus and Clark County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates.
Coffin said Ensign went to the nation's capital promising change but emerged as one of the leading recipients of political action committee money, and one of the heaviest users of franking privileges.
"He's fast becoming known as PAC man because he never met a special-interest dollar he didn't gobble up," Coffin said. "As the campaign progresses I will show you just how John has sold out."
Ensign, conversely, said Monday that until campaign finance reform is achieved, it would be impractical for him to stop raising funds to get out his message. He said unions and others aiming to defeat vulnerable House Republican freshmen have already spent about $360,000 on television and radio ads against him.
He added that Coffin "shouldn't take a dime of PAC money or else he'll be hypocritical." Ensign also said he has spent less on franking than his predecessor, former Democratic Rep. James Bilbray.
The independent Democratic label Coffin will employ is the same one Bryan used effectively in 1994 when he beat Republican challenger Hal Furman.
Coffin, a state legislator since 1982, showed an independent streak in 1989 when he cast one of the few votes against a proposed 300 percent pension increase for legislators. The proposed increase was rescinded in a special session, but many legislators who voted for the original bill lost re-election bids.
"He (Ensign) follows the leadership of the extremist Newt Gingrich," Coffin said. "He hasn't exercised the independence we expect from politicians in Nevada."
Although Ensign has voted the vast majority of time with the House GOP leadership, he said most of the freshmen have backed Gingirch and other leaders more than he has. Ensign noted, for example, that he went against leadership by voting against a bill that he said would have placed American troops under U.N. command.
Coffin, a 53-year-old antiquarian book dealer and group insurance broker, took on the air of a polished campaigner by coming out of the box slugging.
Coffin said Ensign's "political gatherings are thinly disguised as town hall meetings." He also accused the congressman of voting to cut taxes at the expense of seniors and college students.
"I'm up against a $200 million family fortune," Coffin said of the Ensign family. The congressman's father, Mike, is a Circus Circus Enterprises executive with major stock holdings in the company.
Conceding that he will not be able to match Ensign's campaign war chest, Coffin proposed that congressmen not be allowed to raise funds in the first year of their term. Coffin also vowed to conduct local hearings on issues that "the extremists in Congress have tried to ram through."
"And, yes, even Mr. Ensign will be invited to testify," Coffin said.
Ensign defended his town hall meetings, arguing that he has had closer contact with his constituents than any other House member from Southern Nevada in his memory. He also took offense at Coffin's reference to the Ensign family wealth.
"I'm very proud of my parents and proud of what they've accomplished," Ensign said. "I think it's wrong to attack families. That's when you start getting into mud, and I want my campaign to be about the issues."
There are about 30,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the congressional district, which covers most of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. Ensign ran heaviest in 1994 in Green Valley, while Bilbray suffered from relatively poor turnout in his strongest precincts.
Reid and Bryan said they think Coffin can energize the Democratic majority and win its support by focusing on education, the environment and Medicare.
Other Las Vegas Democrats who have entered the congressional race are sanitation worker Carlo Poliak and former state Welfare Division employee Daniel Banta. Ensign said he expects to formally announce his re-election bid in March or April.
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