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Tonight's "Ralston Reports" features Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie
And we will be talking to him about the report, attached here, on deadly force and reforms proposed by the Department of Justice.
Debbie Smith to be Finance Committee chair and assistant leader
Former Speaker Pro Tem Debbie Smith is about to assume even more power in the upper house, putting her in the decision-making room with her old pal and fellow workaholic, Speaker-to-Be Marilyn Kirkpatrick. Smith has been named second-in-command to Majority Leader Mo Denis, but also chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee. I always said that if Bill Raggio were ever forced to give up one of his titles -- majority leader or finance boss -- he always would have chosen to remain head of the most powerful committee in Carson City.
State Senate Republicans tapping donors for...losers
So what does a lobbyist or business say when the minority leader of a house comes asking for money, not for his caucus, but for two folks who ran to be members but lost? Yes, I suppose. State Sen. Michael Roberson raised more money, through PACs and through their campaign accounts, for those five critical state Senate races than has ever been raised before. When all is said and done, my guess is the total will be close to $2.5 million, maybe even $3 million.
SEIU joins chorus telling Sandoval to expand Medicaid
The Service Employees International Union has joined a chorus of voices, including many in the medical community, urging Gov. Brian Sandoval to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The governor continues to say he will make a decision soon, but the union has sent 300 signed postcards -- release is attached here -- to try to pressure Sandoval. Not sure he will listen to SEIU, but it can't hurt.
It's good to be the queen and king
So what do you do if you just became speaker and majority leader and have a sizable majority? Go to Disneyland? Nope. Extract as much money as you can from donors before Session '13 begins. Assembly Democratic leaders Marilyn Kirkpatrick, the speaker to be, and William Horne, the majority leader to come, are having a joint fundraiser Nov. 27in Las Vegas. (Invitation attached here.) So lobbyists and the like: A few days after you give thanks on Turkey Day, go give thanks to Kirkpatrick and Horne. And bring your checkbook.
Caption contest -- The Three Amigos
So what are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Gov. Brian Sandoval and Sen. Dean Heller talking about in DC this morning? One suggestion by a wag is attached here. If you have your own, please give me your best in the comments.
The five-year anniversary of Nevada mattering
This nugget passed on to me by history expert William Lefkovics, a seminal day in Nevada political history:
You say you want some evolution
Darwin didn’t see this much evolution on the Galapagos. Sean Hannity is evolving. Dean Heller is evolving. Even Harry Reid is evolving. Hannity, whose FOX scripts often seem written by the Republican National Committee, now says he sees the need for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Heller, who sneered about Obamacare and the president’s economic plan, now marvels at how Barack Obama connects with the middle class. And Reid, who all but said a President Romney’s agenda would be dead on arrival in his house, now is hopeful both sides can work together.
My column: The Brian Sandoval myth
As he prepares for Session ’13 and, inevitably, Campaign ’14, Gov. Brian Sandoval, he of the 60 percent approval rating, has established himself as one of the singularly politically skillful pols in Nevada history. But he is not invincible.
Clark County Republicans will meet to assess what went wrong (that could take awhile)
Leo Bletnitsky, active in the most radical GOP (Clark County) in Nevada and the local chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition, says it's time for voter ID, a better ground game and to purge the Ron Paul influence. Here's his email sent this morning: