Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Jon Ralston:

Nevada’s 10 biggest political stories of 2009

A year when the state’s top two Republicans couldn’t get to 50 percent approval if you combined their favorability ratings. A year of dramatic entrances and exits from the political stage. And a year of the largest tax increase in history combined with the biggest budget cuts.

That was 2009 in Nevada politics. Or some of it. What were the most noteworthy stories, the ones freighted with potential for short- and long-term impact? One man’s opinion follows.

No. 1 — The Tax and Cut Session: The most significant story was also the most anticlimactic. The contours of the eventual deal were murmured in January and then consummated in June — a billion dollars in payroll and sales taxes and a billion in cuts to state programs. The ultimate passage-veto-override scenario also seemed inevitable, and it wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding.

No. 2 — The Rising Star goes Supernova: Before June 16, Sen. John Ensign was a leading conservative voice and a possible presidential candidate on his way to Iowa. After his news conference that day, he became a pariah, a possible target of ethics and criminal probes and, worst of all, the butt of jokes. Hell hath no fury like a cuckolded husband seeking revenge. The impact from here to D.C. is immense.

No. 3 — The descent of Reid the Elder and the gathering of the dwarves: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s numbers never have been strong, but his helming the Democratic agenda and being perceived as part of an unpopular ruling triumvirate (Obama-Pelosi-Reid may become a permanent part of the political lexicon) has placed his political life in jeopardy. Only good news was Rep. Dean Heller’s decision not to run, but Snow White or one of the dwarves will suddenly become a national GOP hero once the nomination is settled.

No. 4 — The least relevant governor in history: The Man Formerly Known as Governor had his budget shredded, his personal life lampooned and his approval ratings bludgeoned. A staff shake-up helped Ø, but it’s akin to dropping the best crew in the world onto the Titanic post-iceberg. The unkindest cut of all: Putative friend Monte Miller, who has called Jim Gibbons a transcendent governor, defecting to Brian Sandoval’s camp because of the governor’s poll numbers. Et tu, Monte?

No. 5 — Gaming on the precipice, at the CityCenter of a financial crisis: Companies not talking about the next chapter of record growth but chapters of a more ominous kind? Unheard of. CityCenter at one time teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, and double-digit dips in casino revenue are unheard of and contributed to the political worry in Carson City.

No. 6 — Madame speaker takes a pass; the rise of Reid the Younger: After a session in which she masterfully held her caucus together and laid the groundwork for a gubernatorial bid, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley chose family over ambition. Thus did Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid ascend, only to be buffeted at year’s end by polls showing him getting crushed in a general election and the emergence of the double-edged sword of two Reids on the same ballot.

No. 7 — Here comes the judge: At first, it seemed like a fantastic rumor. But by year’s end, Brian Sandoval showed he had a different definition of “lifetime appointment” than Harry Reid and had become the favorite to win the GOP nomination and the betting choice for the governorship in a non-Oscar race. From appointed to anointed.

No. 8 — You can’t fight City Hall or keep a Goodman down: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman pushed his surely eponymous project from start to finish, defeating the Culinary in a vitriolic war of words and in the courts. Only someone with Goodman’s Teflon could promote a quarter-billion-dollar government building during a recession and still be a front-runner for governor.

No. 9 — Meet the new boss, different from the old boss: Steven Horsford’s ascent to majority leader of the state Senate changed the dynamic of an upper house that was critical to the passage of the tax package. Horsford showed flashes of brilliance and immaturity in his first session and the newly minted minority leader, Bill Raggio, showed he still knew when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.

No. 10 — A pardon for the president not forthcoming: President Barack Obama’s widely distorted remarks about not traveling to Las Vegas “on the taxpayer’s dime” became fodder for the mayor and governor, for the Republicans to pound the White House and for excuse-seekers to find a scapegoat for the state’s economic woes. It was the most overblown story of the year, but it still had an impact.

•••

Coming Sunday: The top 10 political stories of the decade in Nevada.

Jon Ralston hosts the news discussion program “Face to Face With Jon Ralston” and publishes the daily e-mail newsletter “RalstonFlash.com.” His column for the Las Vegas Sun appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

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