Lawmaker, Abe Lincoln look-alike in GOP primary race for state controller

CARSON CITY - Looking like Abe Lincoln - who brought Nevada into the union - may get Wally Earhart a few votes. But he's going to need a lot more to win the Republican primary for state controller.

Earhart, of Carson City, faces state Sen. Kathy Augustine, R-Las Vegas, in the Sept. 1 primary. The winner advances to meet Democrat Mary Sanada, Independent Thomas Jefferson and Libertarian Jim Lee in the November general election.

The current controller, Republican Darrel Daines, is retiring at the end of this term after 16 years on the job as the state's chief fiscal officer.

Earhart, 56, who portrays Lincoln at various functions, is a Taxation Department appraiser and 20-year state employee. He also made unsuccessful bids during the 1970s for Congress and secretary of state, and for controller in 1982.

"President Lincoln went into a number of races and he didn't win them," Earhart says. "But he went for the big one and he won. Now it's my turn."

Earhart also says he has done corporate appraisals for years, and as a result he's adept at reading balance sheets of "big-buck operations."

Augustine's critics say she lacks a background in finance, and that's needed for the controller's job. But she does have name recognition, especially in populous southern Nevada, plus backing from some top state Republicans and more campaign funds.

A teacher, Augustine served two years in the state Assembly and four years in the Senate. She also did accounting work in the airline industry.

Because the controller's job is essentially an administrative position, Augustine thinks her business background, her experience in the Legislature and her education - a master's degree in public administration - will be advantages for her.

In the November general election, the winner of the GOP primary must go up against Sanada, who clearly has the experience for the controller's job: she worked as chief accountant there for years, and ran unsuccessfully for Daines' job in 1994.

Although it's a little-known office, the controller pays the state's bills and ensures state spending is appropriate. The controller also serves on the state Transportation Board, whose members decide what state road projects are constructed.

archive