Columnist Jeff German: Adelson-mania shaking up Nevada's political establishment

AT 88, Vermont Bay has lived in Las Vegas long enough to be considered an expert on politics here.

Bay, a retired Greyhound bus driver who says he's voted in every election in the last 52 years, telephoned Monday to add his name to the long list of Las Vegans unhappy about the nasty demeanor of Campaign '98.

"This is the worst I've ever seen," Bay said. "I can't believe all of things they're doing."

As an old-timer, Bay said, he's already decided who will get his vote. But he wondered how newcomers must feel being bombarded with negative television ads this year.

"It's very confusing," he said.

So it is.

And it's not going to get any clearer, as the candidates head into the last week of the campaign loaded for bear.

Fallout remains high over Sheldon Adelson's decision to turn up the intensity of the mud-slinging.

The Culinary Union, for example, is upping the ante in its high-stakes showdown with the Venetian megaresort developer, who is spending $2 million on television ads attacking three labor-backed County Commission candidates. The ads were purchased by Adelson's Committee for Fairness.

Adelson's ad blitz has prompted the union to add 40 more foot soldiers in its statewide get-out-the-vote campaign. Stopping the gaming mogul has become the union's rallying cry, as it attempts to reach an estimated 77,000 registered voters loyal to the labor movement.

Over the weekend, the union distributed 20,000 leaflets to casino workers urging them to vote for the three Democratic candidates Adelson has been bashing -- Commissioners Myrna Williams and Erin Kenny and newcomer Dario Herrera.

Gov. Bob Miller, who has spoken out against Adelson's political push, also is stepping up the fight. Miller has cut a 30-second commercial voicing his concerns on behalf of the Committee for Common Decency, a group of movers and shakers created to counter Adelson's offensive.

Adelson, it seems, has turned Nevada's political establishment upside down and energized a handful of veteran political consultants who have earned a living fronting for the power brokers.

"This is a watershed for Nevada politics," said Sig Rogich, a longtime political strategist instrumental in the Republican gubernatorial campaign of businessman Kenny Guinn.

"I think the aftermath of what's going on will be as important as the election itself. This will redefine campaign spending laws."

Rogich said the Nevada Legislature can be counted on next year to examine the consequences of Adelson's involvement in Campaign '98.

Billy Vassiliadis, a casino industry lobbyist and top political strategist for the governor, agrees.

"Win or lose, a lot of lawmakers are going to take a very hard look at this, and I think you'll see some significant new reforms come out of the Legislature," Vassiliadis said.

Kent Oram, another veteran consultant, called Adelson's campaign a "defining moment" that has gotten "everybody's total attention."

Oram has been helping Kenny fend off attacks from Adelson and her Republican challenger, ex-highway patrolman Steve Harney.

Kenny, with Oram's help, has begun to get as nasty as Adelson over the airwaves. Within the last several days, Kenny has been running a brutal, but effective radio ad ripping into Harney for be named in a civil racketeering lawsuit that's supposed to go to trial next year.

The ad probably wouldn't have been aired had Adelson not leveled out the playing field in Kenny's race.

But now, it's as if anything goes.

"You have to be able to answer attacks," Oram said. "An attack unanswered is an attack that works for your opponent."

Don Williams, a veteran consultant who doesn't have a stake in this year's election, said the establishment's willingness to get down and dirty with Adelson speaks volumes about its outlook on politics here.

"What we're seeing are the real faces of the power brokers," Williams said. "Their morality is governed only by the threshold necessary to keep their good old boy network in tack."

Williams said Adelson already has won this battle no matter what happens at the polls next Tuesday.

"Everyone who messes with him now knows there's a huge price to pay," Williams said. "They know he'll go after them, and he'll just keep coming and coming, and he will be as vitriolic as he has to be."

Over the years, Williams has earned the reputation as the bad boy of Nevada politics, willing to do whatever is necessary to win a race.

"My ads were tame compared to what he (Adelson) is doing," Williams said. "As a campaign manager, I wouldn't want to tangle with him."

Still, Williams said the town needs to be shaken up.

"This is sending the message that one or two people no longer can run the state," he said. "There's a new gunslinger in town."

Indeed, there is.

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