BLOG
Court could decide constitutionality of governor, Legislature passing tax authority to counties
The Washoe County Commission, of all places, started a legal ball rolling this week that could flatten legislative and gubernatorial buck-passing and affect roads, police and school tax plans in the two urban areas.
Miller the Younger locks up support North and South
If you are wondering why Republicans are having trouble finding a credible candidate to challenge Secretary of State Ross Miller for attorney general, consider what is occurring this month: Two fundraisers, one North (Eldorado) and one South (Wynn), that feature host committees cutting across partisan and special interest lines. The event announcements, both attached here, include: ----A slew of current (Clark DA Steve Wolfson not seen on this kind of list very often) and former elected officials ----Lobbyists galore
Gamers, business groups unite to oppose margins tax
And so it begins. A broad-based coalition on Wednesday filed a political action committee Wednesday, the secretary of state's office confirms, to try to defeat the margins tax, and sources confirmed this marriage of convenience also has retained national talent to gauge public sentiment and prepare strategy to scuttle The Education Initiative.
Retailers form PAC to defeat margins tax
UPDATE: This post catalyzed quite the interesting legal debate over what exactly this PAC and its affiliate (especially) might have to disclose after my suggestion that the use of an LLC might be for disclosure evasion. Some attorneys think that SB 246 from last session will force the LLC to disclose but it is by no means clear. If the LLC is simply seen as a vendor not providing free services, it may not have to disclose. Ad one attorney among several who weighed in told me:
Gaming and mining run the state -- and have better grammar, too!
Gaming and mining run Nevada because lawmakers are in their pockets, so the citizenry needs to have better access to the petition process to ensure democracy survives.
Don't blame Twitter for bad campaign reporting
A few years ago, my mentor and a great journalist, Bob Stoldal, told me he worried that I was doing so much that he got to wondering, “When do you have time to think?” It was, as usual, the right question. And it came to mind as I finished reading Peter Hamby’s impressive and provocative study of campaign reporting, “Did Twitter Kill the Boys on the Bus? Searching for a better way to cover a campaign.” The study, which can be read here, was done for Harvards’s JFK School.
CC GOP has prepared resolution on Syria
It may be moot after the president's speech Tuesday evening, but the Clark County GOP plans Wednesday to adopt a resolution opposing military intervention in Syria. The key passages: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Clark County Republican Party hereby declares that we believe military intervention in Syria to be against the best interest of the United States and it’s citizens at this time; and
Prospective CD4 candidate making rounds in DC as PAC affiliated with his group filed
Niger Innis, who is exploring a run against Rep. Steven Horsford, is in Washington, DC, and his allies filed a federal PAC last week. The New America PAC -- the filing is posted here -- is overseen by Dan Backer, who is a lawyer for TeaParty.net, for which Innis is a strategist. Innis, reached via email, would not comment on the PAC filing or his incipient candidacy. But he appears to be moving forward.
First PAC formed to oppose margins tax
This isn't the big one -- I still think the gamers, retailers at. al. are coming. But the former CEO of Charter Cable and a couple worried about the impact on business have formed an anti-margins tax political action committee called NV Jobs. (The paperwork is attached here.) Maria Martinez, whose husband is affilated with the conservative Cato Institute, says the PAC is "just a group of citizens," including Manny Martinez, the former cable company executive. "We're all in favor of funding education," she told me. "But this is bad for business."
Musing of the week: When was the last close governor's race in Nevada?
As most of Nevada's political elite expect a Brian Sandoval blowout next year, I began to think back to when a race for governor actually was really competitive. It's been awhile. 2010--Sandoval, 53 percent; Rory Reid, 42 percent 2006--Jim Gibbons, 48 percent; Dina Titus, 44 percent (Seems relatively close, but never really in doubt, even after three (!) scandals rocked Gibbons' campaign in final weeks.) 2002- Kenny Guinn, 68 percent; Joe Neal, 22 percent 1998 -- Guinn, 52 percent; Jan Jones, 42 percent