redistricting

Alan Harney Glover
In Coelo quies est
(In Heaven there is rest)

Members of the Nevada Assembly Republican Caucus unanimously re-elected Dr. Robin Titus to be Caucus Leader for the 81st Legislative Session.

Featured speaker at Monday's virtual Democratic luncheon will be League of Women Voters of Nevada President Sondra Cosgrove. She will share the new Fair Maps Nevada plan and circulate their ballot question petition.

Due to pandemic mitigation measures, Fair Maps Nevada won a court ruling extending the signature-gathering deadline for their redistricting reform ballot question to August 3rd.

Sondra Cosgrove, President of the League of Women Voters of Nevada and Professor of History at the College of Southern Nevada, will be the featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon. Her teleconferenced presentation will spotlight Fair Maps Nevada, a bi-partisan coalition of Nevadans joining together to end gerrymandering through transparent redistricting.

Nevada Republicans meet in Winnemucca September 7 to elect our leaders for the 2020 campaign. We need to turn Nevada red for two reasons: 1) to help re-elect Donald Trump president; and 2) to win enough legislative seats to assure the 2021 redistricting will be a fair process, not another Democrat gerrymandering riot.

I hope you got your fill of sunshine yesterday because we have got some cloudy days on the horizon. Luckily, there are enough things going on to keep you distracted, and inside away from the rain. Jazz and Poetry, courtesy of the Mile High Jazz Band, takes place tonight at Comma Coffee, with the lovely June Joplin on vocals. Trade a pint for a pint.

The next Sierra Nevada Forum, scheduled for Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m. inside the Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall at 511 West King Street, will feature a discussion about the Electoral College and the national popular vote.

It didn't take long for partisan politics to overshadow the prayers, songs and stilted harmony of the Legislature’s opening day. Democrats contend that ......

GOP leaders inserted redistricting language into the rules governing the 78th legislative session, a maneuver designed to keep an important bargaining chip in play while limiting mischief from within the Ass. GOP Caucus....

CARSON CITY – Assembly Republican caucus leader Pat Hickey said he expects to pick up seats for the GOP in the upcoming election, but declined to predict today exactly how big a dent his candidates will make in the 26-member Democratic majority on Nov. 6.

CARSON CITY – Forget the tame, staid, policy driven debates seen in most races in Nevada so far this year.

CARSON CITY – A Democratic candidate for the state Assembly in District 9 in Clark County said today allegations by his GOP opponent that he is not a resident of the district are false.

Republican Assembly District 9 candidate Kelly Hurst on Tuesday filed a complaint in Clark County District Court against his Democratic opponent Andrew Martin alleging that Martin does not reside in the district and should be disqualified from the ballot.

CARSON CITY – Republican Assembly District 9 candidate Kelly Hurst today filed a complaint in Clark County District Court against his Democratic opponent Andrew Martin alleging that Martin does not reside in the district and should be disqualified from the ballot.

Hurst and his attorney Frank Cremen say that Martin never moved into the district as he claims.

CARSON CITY – Former state Sen. Sheila Leslie drew a clear contrast with her Republican opponent Sen. Greg Brower in the District 15 race in Washoe County in a debate today, calling for a corporate profits tax to generate enough revenue to adequately fund education.

CARSON CITY – Two Republican members of the Assembly who both want to move into the Senate in District 18 faced off today in a televised debate that focused primarily on a controversial 2011 tax vote.

CARSON CITY – They have names like “A Better Nevada PAC”, “A Bolder Nevada” and “The Nevada Hispanic Legislative Caucus”.

They are all political action committees formed or renewed by state lawmakers this year to help promote their parties, push their candidates and protect their ranks in an effort to maintain and/or win control of the Assembly and Senate.

CARSON CITY – For years the Nevada state Senate was a pretty stable place, with many lawmakers serving for decades.

From one election cycle to the next, the names and faces in the 21-member body didn’t change very often.

That reality was altered in a big way when term limits finally began to have an impact on the state Legislature starting in 2010.

CARSON CITY – Republican state Senator Michael Roberson said today he expects the GOP to retake control of the Senate in the 2012 general election, citing the quality of candidates recruited for two key Clark County races.

His optimism was countered by Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, who said he is confident Democrats will maintain control of the Senate come Nov. 7.

Reading the newspaper this morning is like deja vu. First, there is the story about Carson City being recognized as a top ranked digital city, which we published last month. Then there is the report about the Gardnerville man who was shot by a Douglas County Sheriff's deputy next to his own grave site, an apparent act of "suicide by cop." There's also the story about the fundraiser at J's Bistro to benefit the Dayton Food Pantry that we had yesterday. It reminds me of that line from the movie "All The President's Men" where they talked about a new feature for the paper, yesterday's weather forecast, "for those who got drunk and slept all day."

****

In politics, Judge Todd Russell finalized the state's redistricting case, refusing to add language allowing current office holders from using the words “incumbent” or “re-elect” in their campaigns if their districts had changed. None of the parties in the case objected to the new political boundaries, which closes this chapter of political wrangling.

Secretary of State Ross Miller filed a suit to force conservative advocacy group Citizen Outreach to register with the state and file contribution and expense reports. Miller cited that the group ran ads targeting Assembly Speaker John Oceguera during the 2010 election, which means the group must comply with laws governing political activities.

Although Citizen Outreach has not responded to the suit, its president Chuck Muth has a column today attacking Assembly Minority Leader Pete Goicoechea for not being conservative enough. Goicoechea, a Republican from Eureka, announced that he will run for state senate.

****

In other news from behind the wall, Lisa Hoeppner will represent Carson City in the upcoming Mrs. Nevada-America Pageant in Las Vegas, Local's BBQ has closed its doors, and there is a club for table tennis fans in town.

Have a great Friday!

Term limits and redistricting are about to end Northern Nevada's decades-long stranglehold on key leadership posts in the Legislature.

Because the top leaders shape each legislative session, that should mean more power for Southern Nevada.

William Ravenelle was supposed to be celebrating his 50th birthday last Saturday here in Carson City. But he never came home after he was last seen at the Comfort Inn in Elko, and his family is desperately searching for him. Ravenell's brother Mike went to the motel and found the doors of William's car wide open, and his cell phone was still in his room. A motel employee reported that his wallet was found, and it still had money in it. William Ravenelle is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 185 pounds, blue eyes and brown hair. Anyone with information about his disappearance should call the Elko Police Department at (775) 777-7310.

****

$5 million of voter-approved funding will be going to help build a bike path around the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, but many obstacles stand in the way of its completion. The narrow roadway going through the Carson City portion of the lake's shoreline is one of the problem area. The others include getting around Cave Rock.

****

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller is filing a protest over language that was included in the newly approved redistricting order. The language was added that allows candidates to use terms like "re-elect" an "incumbent" even if the redistricting has moved them to new districts, or their district numbers have changed.

Secretary of State Ross Miller has filed a protest to the changes the Legislative Counsel requested in Judge Todd Russell's redistricting order.Russell agreed to add language clarifying that curren...

A judge has agreed to clarify who can use the term "re-elect" in campaign materials under rules setting new voting boundaries in Nevada.

The issue centers on which legislators get to claim they are the district's incumbent when boundaries get redrawn and force two sitting candidates to run against each other in the same district. The language was sought by Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes.

The Supreme Court denied the secretary of state's petition Friday for a writ demanding rulings from Carson City District Judge Todd Russell.In his ruling adopting the maps drawn by his three "speci...

Well it sure didn't take legislative Republicans long after the redistricting maps were released - subject to final Nevada Supreme Court review and approval - to circle up the ol' firing squad and ...

So far, none of the parties has indicated an intent to appeal the redistricting maps approved last week by Carson City District Judge Todd Russell.Court rules allow 30 days to do so, but Mark Hutch...

Monday was the deadline for parties in the redistricting case to file their arguments for or against the proposed maps, but as of 5 p.m., when the district court clerk's office closed, the Republic...

CARSON CITY – Attorneys for the Nevada Republican Party today filed a brief with the Nevada Supreme Court opposing Secretary of State Ross Miller’s emergency petition seeking to intervene on the question of the authority of the courts to decide the state’s political boundaries instead of the Legislature.

CARSON CITY – The three special masters appointed by Carson City District Judge James Todd Russell to redraw Nevada’s political boundaries wasted no time on the charge, filing their report and proposed maps with the court today.

The legislative and congressional district maps drawn by the three Special Masters make dramatic changes in the current lines, appearing to nest two assembly Districts in each state Senate district...