Tuesday, May 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
A retired multimillionaire Republican who made a fortune in the publishing business plans today to file for the seat held by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Bruce James, a resident of Crystal Bay in Northern Nevada since 1993, is the first declared candidate for the post that will be contested next year. Reid, who first won the seat in November 1986, hasn't declared whether he'll seek a third six-year term.
Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., whose district takes up most of the Las Vegas Valley, also lurks as a potential candidate but has said he won't make a formal decision until fall.
James is a self-described conservative who wants to transfer power from the federal government to the state and local communities. He believes much of the land owned by the federal government in Nevada ought to be returned to the state and made available to private developers. Revenue from that development could help pay for the state's infrastructure needs, he argued.
"We've allowed the federal government to control our destiny but it has not worked out on a variety of fronts," James said Monday. "In order to become an equal player in America we have to recover our land."
The 54-year-old challenger said he'll open a campaign office in Las Vegas within a month and purchase a home in Clark County later this year. He believes he'll need at least $6 million to win the seat, about double the amount Reid and fellow Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., have spent in past elections. But James vows to have a campaign war chest exceeding $1 million by July 31.
"It takes time to build a (strong) organization, especially when you go up against an incumbent senator," he said. "I will put some of my own money into it to seed the campaign."
The founder of Uniplan Corp., Barclays Law Publishers and Electrographic Corp. in San Francisco, James also created Nevada New-Tech Inc. to invest in businesses that "broaden and diversify Nevada's economy."
Retired at age 51, James believes he'll have far more time to campaign than Republican Elko County rancher Demar Dahl had when the latter got trounced by Reid in 1992.
"He didn't have the time to build the (campaign) organization," James said. "I have the time to get to every city in the state. By the end of the year we'll spend 75 percent of our time in Clark County."
James is part of a recent trend of successful GOP businessmen who have sought high office in Nevada without previous campaign experience. Ensign, the son of wealthy Circus Circus Enterprises executive Mike Ensign, was himself a casino general manager before winning his first congressional campaign in November 1994.
1998 gubernatorial candidate Kenny Guinn has served the public in several capacities, including a stint as interim president of UNLV, but has never run for office. Fellow gubernatorial candidate Aaron Russo is a motion picture producer.
James said that he'll spend the next several months attempting to build his own name recognition statewide rather than criticize Reid.
Like the senator, James said he opposes any storage of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. He said the waste ought to be temporarily stored at the nuclear power plants where it is produced.
James also said he supports the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade that legalized certain abortions. But he shares Reid's opposition to the controversial partial-birth abortion procedure that was banned by Congress but preserved by President Clinton's veto. Congress again is attempting to ban the procedure this year.
However, James said he favors a balanced budget amendment while criticizing Reid's record on that issue. The senator has said he'll support the amendment only if it excludes Social Security, arguing that the federal budget shouldn't be balanced on the shoulders of seniors. Previous efforts to pass both the proposed amendment and Reid's version have failed.
The challenger also said that while he favors decentralized government, Reid wants to keep power in the hands of the federal government.
James said he doesn't expect a GOP primary challenge from Ensign. Instead, he believes Ensign will run for re-election to his congressional seat because of his position on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
"We think John will hang on to his job," James said. "His seat is so important to Nevada. A lot of people in Nevada and Washington believe he ought to keep his Ways and Means seat. He's doing a good job right where he is."
James is married and has three sons.
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