Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000 | 11:41 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Predictions of how the election will affect the Assembly fall along party lines.
Republicans say they have an outside chance to control the Assembly for the first time in 15 years.
Democrats say they will continue to be the majority party.
"We've got a good bunch of returning incumbents. I don't see any weak spots," Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, said.
Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, said, "We could win eight seats, or we could win two seats."
The GOP has 14 incumbents, and a gain of eight would give it a slim one-vote majority in the 42-member Assembly.
There are four Democratic assemblymen who are unopposed this election and 22 incumbents on the ballot. The Democrats have a 23-19 majority in the Assembly.
Two vacant seats were held by Democrats. Assemblywoman Jan Evans of Sparks died after the last legislative session and Kelly Thomas of Las Vegas decided not to run for re-election.
But Dini said the rise of Vice President Al Gore and Senate candidate Ed Bernstein in the polls in Nevada is going to help Democrats. And there are strong get-out-the-vote efforts in Clark and Washoe counties for the Democrats.
If Democrats again control the Assembly, their troubles may not be over. Dini, who has been speaker eight times, is being challenged by his one-time protege, Assemblyman Richard Perkins of Henderson, which could touch off a party struggle.
Clark County has not held the speakership in the Assembly since 1983.
District 1
Democrat Tom Collins of North Las Vegas is seeking a fourth term and is opposed by Republican Ed Gobel, a spokesman for military veteran groups. Collins says there must be protection for senior citizens from fraud and safe affordable assisted living must be made available. Gobel says, "We must stop the mind-set of money solving all education problems." He also wants to solve the high cost of medical coverage.
District 2
Republican Merle Berman is seeking a third term and wants to provide "high quality health care for all. She says lung cancer nationally is the top cause of death among women, and the state must develop a comprehensive cancer plan. Her opponent is Harold Sims of the Citizens First Party.
District 3
Democrat John Lee is after a third term and plans to promote decent schools and "compassionate care for the frail elderly and those who cannot care for themselves." Republican Kefty Eaton, owner of Rodeo Pest Wrangles, is opposing Lee. Eaton has volunteered for the Healthy Families Project and Habitat for Humanity.
District 4
Republican Bob Beers is seeking a second term. He wants protection for homeowners from homeowners associations and to increase the use of technology to deliver government services. His opponent is Rollo Miller of the Citizens First Party.
District 5
Republican Barbara Cegavske is seeking a third term and wants to continue reforms in education and to work on health care issues, such as senior citizens' drug prescriptions and HMOs. Democrat Kristen Hansen, a small-business owner, is her opponent. Hansen wants to help small businesses prosper, increase school safety and accountability and improve health care services for seniors.
District 6
Democrat Wendell Williams is seeking an eighth term. The Assembly Education Committee chairman works in the business development agency for the city of Las Vegas. His opponent is fellow Democrat Harvey Munford, a government teacher at Bonanza High School. Munford coached basketball at Bonanza for seven years.
District 7
Democrat Morse Arberry Jr., seeking a ninth term, is administrator of Neighborhood Services for the city of Las Vegas. He is chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. His opponent is Chester Major Richardson, a Republican.
District 8
Democrat Barbara Buckley is seeking a third term. She is executive director of Clark County Legal Services and said she wants to follow up on important measures enacted in previous sessions such as the Health Care Assistance Office and the new senior prescription-drug program. Her opponent is Republican Kevin Child, a real estate agent. Child supports stiffer laws for DUI offenders and legislation to protect seniors. He also wants laws on computer theft crimes, such as cyberstalking.
District 9
There's a rematch of the district's 1998 face-off. Democrat Chris Giunchigliani is after a sixth term. Her Republican opponent again is Mark Scarborough, who owns a software-consulting firm. Giunchigliani, a teacher, was successful in promoting campaign-finance reform and ethics legislation and says she will "continue fighting for seniors, children, individuals with a disability and working men and women." Scarborough wants to create accountability in Nevada schools and to transfer money from the administrative side into the classroom. He said he will oppose taxes, redundant legislation and bureaucratic excesses.
District 10
Democrat David Goldwater, a financial consultant, is after his fourth term. He was chairman of the Assembly Taxation Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee that builds the state budget. He is opposed by Republican James Henry, who said he will oppose any increase in taxes and fees and will "ensure protection of individual property rights." Also in the race is Libertarian Lewis Whitten who favors reducing the penalty for possession of marijuana to a misdemeanor.
District 11
Democrat Douglas Bache is seeking a sixth term. A teacher, Bache said he is going to sponsor a law on the Metropolitan Police Department so it can be dissolved only by a vote of the people. And he wants further improvements in the Patients' Bill of Rights. Republican challenger Michael Wisner has been a Teamster at Nevada Ready Mix for 13 years and operates a small home-based business. He says he will work to toughen school safety laws and to expedite transportation projects.
District 12
Democrat Genie Ohrenschall is running for her fourth term. She intends to fight unfair rent increases for mobile-home residents and work to prevent domestic violence. Republican Geny Del Rosario and Citizens First Wanda McClenaghan are her opponent. McClenaghan wants a law to have the fluoride removed from the water supply in Clark County "because it is toxic waste."
District 13
Republican Dennis Nolan is seeking a fourth term. His opponents are Republican Byron Goynes and Independent American Jonathan Hansen. Hansen, an attorney, opposes gun control, same-sex marriages and a state income tax. He also favors breaking up the Clark County School District.
District 14
Democrat Ellen Koivisto is running for a third term. She says improved health care for senior citizens, children and the disabled is a priority. She will sponsor a bill prohibiting the courts from charging a filing fee before issuing a protective order. She says people find themselves often without any money but need a court protective order. Republican Mike Davis, owner of In Touch Communications, is her opponent. He said he supports penalties to reverse the increase in juvenile crime and seniors should be able to afford prescription drugs.
District 15
Democrat Kathy McClain, a Clark County employee, is seeking a second term. Republican Jack Close, who runs a physical-therapy business, is trying to make a political comeback. He served in the Assembly but lost the seat when he ran for the Senate two years ago. The Independent American candidate is Peter Walker, who wants to lower the vehicle registration fee for private cars to a flat $50 a year, saving Nevadans hundreds of dollars. He also wants to reduce the state's gasoline tax by 25 cents per gallon.
District 16
Democrat John Oceguera and Republican Jack McClary are squaring off to replace Kelly Thomas, who did not run for re-election. Oceguera says he wants to improve education, provide assistance for the elderly and oppose unnecessary taxation. McClary, a financial management consultant, has served on the Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Commission, the Clark County Comprehensive Planning Steering Committee and as treasurer for the Literacy Council of Las Vegas.
District 17
Democrat Bob Price, who has served since 1974 and is one of the senior members of the Legislature, wants to improve Nevada's open-meeting law and to continue to push for annual sessions. Republican Terry Holtz, owner of a custom picture framing shop, pledges to continue to support tough laws on crime and to work to "fix" education, private and public.
Districts 18, 19, 20
Democrat Mark Manendo is unopposed for a third term in District 18. Democrat Jerry Claborn is seeking a second term in District 19 and is opposed by Republican Gary Horrocks. In District 20, Republican Kathy Von Tobel is running for a third term. Her Democratic opponent is Bradley Smith.
District 21
Republican Sandra Tiffany of Henderson, who is leading a drive to split the Clark County School District, is seeking a fifth term. Her Democratic opponent is Larry Bettis, a deputy city attorney for Las Vegas who is stressing school safety, nursing home care for seniors and the crowded highways.
District 22
Democrat Gene Segerblom, a retired teacher, is seeking her fifth term. She wants to decrease class sizes in the fourth through the sixth grades and to provide for home care for seniors. She is opposed by Republican David Brown and Citizens First Thomas "Tommy" Thompson, who favors a school voucher system and term limits for elective officials.
District 23
Perkins, who may challenge Dini for his leadership role, is seeking a fifth term. A police captain in Henderson, he wants better coordination of children's programs and planning for the Nevada state college. His opponent, Republican Michael Cannon, says taxes, including the sales and motor vehicle privilege taxes, needed to be lower. "Taxes make it difficult for the average working Nevadan to improve their situation."
District 28
Democrat Vonne Chowning is seeking a sixth term and she wants to continue the class-size reduction program. And she favors emphasis on remediation for students and training to meet the new academic standards. Her opponent is Libertarian James Dan.
Districts 41, 42
Democrat David Parks is going after a third term in District 41. His priorities are for safer neighborhoods, better schools and affordable health care. His opponent is Republican John Richie, who favors more charter schools for vocational training, supports the traditional male-female marriage, opposes fluoride treatment in the drinking water and is against any new taxes or fees.
In District 42, Democrat Harry Mortenson is unopposed for a third term.
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