BUTTING HEADS
DEMS JAB FOR POSITIONING
BY RYAN SLATTERY

The election is still 19 months away, but the posturing, and the bickering, has already begun. The Democratic Party has launched an early attack aimed at Rep. Jim Gibbons, while state Republicans are reveling in what they say is political infighting within the Democratic Party as two of its potential top party nominees jockey for position, often criticizing and taking pot shots at each other. With the mudslinging beginning so early, you can only imagine the types of tactics and games both parties will play when the heat really simmers as the 2006 election nears. 

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus snapped at her own party’s assembly leader, potential primary foe speaker Richard Perkins, saying she would not give a rebuttal  to his “gubernatorial speech” delivered opening day of the 73rd session.

Titus, who confirmed she will run for governor in 2006, says the jab was a joke and that the two are working closely, citing their Monday press conferences together as evidence that they are getting along just fine.

“It’s obviously going to be a little strained,” Titus admitted of their relationship. “But as Democrats, we are on the same page and won’t let it hurt our legislative agenda.”   

Perkins did not respond to phone calls seeking comment, but is surely acting like a gubernatorial candidate. In a press release announcing he will reconvene his “Kitchen Cabinet,” an unofficial panel of advisors comprised of leaders from rural areas, he said, “Too often our focus in the Legislature is on our state’s large urban areas. My focus as Speaker of the Assembly is to represent the entire state, not just my district in Henderson.”

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani (D-Las Vegas) said Titus and Perkins seem be getting along well. Sure there have “been a few shots over the bow,” she says, but the exchanges are just examples of two leaders with two distinctly different personalities and styles “trying to do what’s right for the citizens of Nevada.”

Other clues of a riff: Perkins called Titus’ proposal to freeze property taxes a “fallback” plan; he also flip flopped on the issue of requiring unpaid leave for lawmakers who hold other government jobs, saying he no longer supports Titus’ proposed legislation. He holds a government job with the Henderson Police Department.

Democratic spokesman Jon Summers dismissed the notion that Democrats are infighting.

“It’s frankly not happening,” Summers said.  

Meanwhile, Republicans see Titus as moving more to the right in this legislative session in an effort to win support from the state’s conservative voters. From a bill to fund grants for economic development in rural areas to one regulating lobbyist reports, Titus is moving toward the middle of the aisle, they say.    

“Dina Titus is smart,” Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick (R-Douglas) says of her more moderate undertakings this session. “She sees what happened during the presidential election, that this is a conservative state, and she is trying to position herself right of Perkins on some of the major issues.”

Titus denies that she’s changed her position or view on certain issues to become a more attractive candidate to conservative voters.

“You do that and people don’t think you’re sincere,” she said. “My legislative agenda has always been the same.”

As to whether or not Titus and Perkins are focused on their legislative work this session, those on the hill in Carson City pretty much agree.

“They are doing their job,” Hettrick said. “They have tempered their position so it doesn’t have a negative impact on their future, but they are doing their job.”

Adds Summers, “It’s important to have a good legislative session, especially for those who have future political aspirations.” LW