Government Affairs Report – November & December 2016
Whether you woke up Wednesday, November 9, the day after the General Election feeling dismay, elation or a combination of both, at least now the nasty campaign ads are off the airwaves.
The two most unpopular candidates in the history of U.S. politics did two things…they drove voters both to and away from polls. The Democratic GOTV (Get Out The Vote) is, historically, the best organized machine in the nation. The Republican GOTV is, historically, virtually non-existent.
But this time around, while the Democratic machine was able to get voters to the polls, it was unable to get voters to vote the top of ticket – the Presidential ticket – and for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The Democrats came out and voted down-ticket in Nevada, locking in the majority in both the State Senate and Assembly. Voters on both sides supported four key statewide ballot questions:
- Strengthen background checks on gun purchases. This won by the slimmest of margins; 50.4% Yes – 49.6% No
- Approve recreational marijuana; 54.5% Yes – 45.5% No
- Open the energy market to competition; a whopping 72.4% Yes – 27.6% No
- Tax exemption for durable medical equipment; 71.8% Yes – 28.2% No
In Clark County, voters also supported a continued increased fuel tax for improved roads and in Washoe County, voters supported increased property taxes to support school construction. Voters also turned out both GOP Congressman Cresent Hardy in favor of State Senator Ruben Kihuen in Congressional District 3, and perennial contender Danny Tarkanian who drew Harry Reid’s pick, Jacky Rosen in Congressional District 4.
Our Congressional line up:
Dina Titus, D, Congressional District 1. Titus knows Nevada inside-out, has the airport and strip in her district and knows what makes Nevada tick. She has an open door both in-district and in D.C. and has terrific staff members who are very responsive.
Mark Amodei, R, Congressional District 2. Long-time supporter of NAIOP issues. Conservative, but not so overly that he alienates the Democrats. Amodei represents Carson City and much of northern and rural Nevada.
Ruben Kihuen, D (Cresent Hardy’s seat). A former State Assemblyman now former State Senator, Kihuen is open and accessible, but has never been viewed as a workhorse. He chaired the first-ever Senate Committee on Economic Development in 2013, however, no bills of note were moved by the committee and will be a good party soldier in Congress.
Jacky Rosen, D. (Joe Heck’s vacated seat) Rosen was Senator Reid’s hand-picked candidate. She was a virtual unknown working to best a perennial candidate with a well-known name, Danny Tarkanian. While name recognition is usually a positive, by the fifth campaign, perhaps not so much. Unlike ALL the other candidates, Rosen never once reached out to me via email or phone. I guess she thought she didn’t need to, and indeed, she did not.
State Senate
The Democrats took back both the Senate and the Assembly and organized early to nominate leadership; Aaron Ford as Majority Leader and Kelvin Atkinson as Assistant Majority Leader.
With the election, the Senate moved from a make-up of 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, to 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, with an open Democrat seat (Ruben Kihuen’s). Less than a week after the election, GOP Senator Patricia Farley vacated the party that put her in office and announced she would switch to Non-Partisan and caucus with the Democrats, leaving the Senate make-up 10-9-1, with the yet-to-be appointed Democrat seat rounding that up to 11-9-1.
Ruben Kihuen ran mid-term for Congress, therefore, the County Commission must appoint someone to fill that seat for the 2017 Session. By law, the appointee must be of the same political party. The most likely candidate to surface for appointment is former Culinary Political Director, Yvanna Cancela.
Senate Leadership has assigned committee membership as follows:
Commerce Labor & Energy (SCLE)
- Chairman – Kelvin Atkinson, D
- Vice Chair – Patricia Spearman, D
- Nicole Cannizzaro, D
- James Settelmeyer, R
- Joe Hardy, MD, R
- Heidi Gansert, R
Education (SEdu)
- Chairman – Mo Denis, D
- Vice Chair – Joyce Woodhouse, D
- Patricia Spearman, D
- Tick Segerblom, D
- Scott Hammond, R
- Don Gustavson, R
- Becky Harris, R
Finance (SFin)
- Chairman – Joyce Woodhouse, D
- Vice Chair – David Parks, D
- Mo Denis, D
- Aaron Ford, D
- Ben Kieckhefer, R
- Pete Goicoechea, R
- Becky Harris, R
Governmental Affairs (SGA)
- Chairman – David Parks, D
- Vice Chair – Mark Manendo, D
- Julia Ratti, D
- Pete Goicoechea, R
- Joe Hardy, R
Health & Human Services (SHHS)
- Chairman – Patricia Spearman, D
- Vice Chair – Julia Ratti, D
- Joyce Woodhouse, D
- Joe Hardy, MD, R
- Scott Hammond, R
Judiciary (SJud)
- Chair – Tick Segerblom, D
- Vice Chair – Nicole Cannizzaro, D
- Aaron Ford, D
- Mo Denis, D
- Mike Roberson, R
- Becky Harris, R
- Don Gustavson, R
Legislative Operations & Elections (SLegOps)
- Chair – Nicole Cannizzaro, D
- Vice Chair – Tick Segerblom, D
- Kelvin Atkinson, D
- James Settelmeyer, R
- Heidi Gansert, R
Natural Resources, Mining & Agriculture (SNR)
- Chair – TBD
- Vice Chair – Mark Manendo, D
- Julia Ratti, D
- James Settelmeyer, R
- Pete Goicoechea, R
Revenue & Economic Development (SRed)
- Chair – Julia Ratti, D
- Vice Chair – Aaron Ford, D
- David Parks, D
- Patricia Farley, NP
- Mike Roberson, R
- Ben Kieckhefer, R
- Heidi Gansert, R
Transportation (STrans)
- Chair – Mark Manendo, D
- Vice Chair – Kelvin Atkinson, D
- Patricia Farley, NV
- Scott Hammond, R
- Don Gustavson, R
The Assembly Caucus has not yet – at time of submittal (11-19) — announced committee chairs and/or membership.
The Assembly Democrats have elected newly elected Assemblyman Jason Frierson, who served in the Assembly in 2013 before his defeat in 2015 by John Moore, as Speaker of the House. Frierson is a former prosecutor in the Clark County D.A.’s office and also served as lobbyist for Clark County. Since 2013, he has practiced law, focusing on assisting families with surrogacy and adoptions. I have always found him to be fair and moderate.
At the time of this writing, the Assembly Democrats have still not announced leadership positions nor committee chairmanships. As soon as these leadership posts are announced, we can begin reaching out to members assigned to committees where our bills will be heard. Most bills of interest to NAIOP members end up in Commerce & Labor, Judiciary and/or Taxation, in both houses.
The Assembly Republicans have announced that former Majority Leader Paul Anderson will be the caucus Minority Leader. Assemblyman James Oscarson, who represents a very large and predominantly rural district with some precincts in West Las Vegas (Red Rock area) will be co-Assistant Minority Leader. Assemblyman Jim Wheeler will also serve as co-Assistant Minority Leader. Boulder City Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury will serve as Whip and Assemblyman John Ellison from Elko will serve in the newly created position of “Rural Whip.”
And on the Local Level…..
Did you think that the elections were over? Ha! That would be nice. However, now that the state and county commission races are done, the municipal races (City) are in play.
Las Vegas City Council races are just heating up, but many of you have likely been getting calls from some of our favorite council members…and others…
Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony, who has always made himself available for meetings and events, is running for reelection. Councilman Anthony made a run for Mayor against current Mayor Carolyn Goodman in 2015 and is now running for his existing seat. To date, he has no opponent.
Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers is also running for reelection. I’ve not worked with Beers much in his capacity as a City Councilman, but I can certainly say that when he was serving first in the State Assembly and then in the State Senate, Beers was great to work with. He is quick to grasp issues, does his homework and once he commits, he never goes sideways on an issue. Beers took an early and unpopular position supporting the development of residential units on the Badlands Golf Course. This could cause him some grief in his campaign.
With Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross terming out in 2017, there are two known names (so far) seeking the seat…Steve’s wife, Kelli Ross, and Clark County School Board member Chris Garvey. Kelli ran unsuccessfully for State Senate four years ago and is a flight attendant. Chris Garvey has served on the CCSD board and has a long history in Southern Nevada.
The City of North Las Vegas has seats up for grabs; namely the top seat of Mayor. Current Mayor John Lee is running for reelection and is working hard to raise money to keep former legislator/County Commissioner Tom Collins at bay. Collins announced his intention of running well over a year ago. Fraught with legal and personal issues, Collins is the perennial bull in the china shop. Lee has a good rapport with his council members and is committed to turning North Las Vegas around.
North Las Vegas Council members up for reelection in Spring 2017 are Anita Wood of Ward 3 and Isaac Barron of Ward 1.
With three of the five top City of Henderson officers just reelected in 2016, Councilman John Marz of Ward 3 is the lone council member running for reelection. Mayor Andy Hafen has one term left as well.
Just when you thought it was safe to put away your checkbook…
Susan L. Fisher
McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP
sfisher@mcwlaw.com
