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May. 07, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'Independent' Heller files for re-election

GOP congressman seeks second term

By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
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CARSON CITY -- Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is running for re-election because he best represents the "independent thinking" of his district's citizens, he said Tuesday.

Heller, 47, on Monday filed his candidacy for a second term representing Nevada's 2nd Congressional District.

Since becoming a member of Congress in January 2007, Heller said, he has conducted weekly town hall meetings in which thousands of his constituents have participated. He said he had taken what he learned from them and responded with his votes and bills in Congress.

As an example, he noted that earlier Tuesday he introduced a bill to require English-only ballots for federal elections.

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    • That was the issue his constituents raised the most concern about when he ran for the seat in 2006, according to Heller.

    At the time, Heller was ending a 12-year tenure as Nevada's secretary of state. He said people complained that ballots were printed in Spanish. He could not do anything about it then because it was a federal law, but he intends to try now.

    "I want all immigrants to be legal immigrants, and I want them all to succeed," Heller said. "The best way they can succeed is by learning the English language."

    Heller is ranked 420th most powerful of the 435 members of Congress by Knowlegis, a nonpartisan analysis firm. Nonetheless, he was chosen to deliver the House Republican Conference's national weekly radio address on Saturday.

    In that address, he criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for not delivering on a promise she made two years ago. Pelosi said she would propose a plan for reducing gas prices.

    On April 23, Heller introduced a resolution that called for Pelosi to introduce her "commonsense but apparently secret plan."

    Heller said it wasn't a partisan move. "I would have done the same thing if Republicans had promised a plan and failed to deliver," he said.

    But his probable Democratic opponent, Jill Derby, on Tuesday called Heller a "Bush clone" who votes with the Republican president more than 90 percent of the time.

    Derby said she intends to file for the seat in the next few days. Two years ago, Derby, who resigned in February as state Democratic Party chairwoman, lost the same race to Heller by 5 percentage points. It was considered a close race, since there were about 48,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats in the district at the time.

    The Republican advantage has since been reduced to about 31,000 voters. But Heller said he is confident he will win because his votes and political stances in Congress represent the thinking of district residents.

    "Jill is going to say what she has to say," he added. "I don't take her lightly. But I am independent like the district voters."

    Congressional District 2 covers 16 Nevada counties in their entirety and portions of the 17th, Clark County.

    Heller filed for re-election on Monday, but was not available for comment until Tuesday.

    Heller's only opponent so far, Elko mining engineer John Everhart, also filed on Monday. Everhart is a member of the Independent American Party.



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    B. Evans wrote on May 07, 2008 04:35 PM: Schools in the better educated portions of the United States (our state is not one of those) as well as in most foreign countries, all require students to learn a language different from their native tongue. The effort to control immigration by some ridiculous english only rule has no chance of succeeding. While the dollar is rapidly falling in value all over the world, Heller concerns himself with making sure that immigrants cannot participate in this country until they have mastered english. The economy, the war, gas prices, jobs being moved off shore, all seem to have no import to him. English only laws have their genesis in racism and simply provide additional assurance that the first generation spanish speaking immigrants will not be able to meaningfully participate or advance in this society. I hope the voters recognize your statements for what they are and send you and others who share your belief, a message that we are interested in the issues...controling immigration is one thing but denying people who are legally here the right of full and fair participation is yet another.


    Reginald wrote on May 07, 2008 09:51 AM: b,

    You know that 'small government' Heller has sponsored or co-sponsored over a $100,000,000 in pork in his short 16 months in federal office. You know that, right?

    Heller sticks the earmark in the appropriations bills and then, knowing the bill will pass, votes against the bill. Then he says with a straight face that he is helping rural Nevadans by bringing home the pork while telling them that he is against pork and that he votes against pork appropriations.

    The guy is just a bald face liar and he is betting that you and the rest of the voters are too stupid to catch on!


    Debby wrote on May 07, 2008 09:47 AM: Heller is so concerned about ballots in spanish that he waited until he filed for re-election (what is this 20 years out of his 47 on earth that he has been on the taxpayers' teat?), to announce his proposed legislation. PANDERING!


    D Jones wrote on May 07, 2008 08:16 AM: I'm voting for Heller. Anyone who bucks the system to change the ballots to English only is my kind of guy.
    By the way, shouldn't "pork's" name be changed to chorizzo?


    b wrote on May 07, 2008 05:21 AM: Good luck Heller, just remember, the most important issue right now is the pork. Just to remind you, us tax payers are absolutely fed up with the pork, or "earmarks" as the Reid types prefer to call it. 0 pork, nada, none, NO PORK!!