JANE ANN MORRISON: Candidate forums: One way to avoid voting for a clown - News

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Sep. 27, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JANE ANN MORRISON: Candidate forums: One way to avoid voting for a clown

JANE ANN MORRISON
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One of the true joys of living in Nevada is that you can meet political candidates up close and personal. And you should.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to judge whether a candidate is a solid policy wonk with a strong work ethic or a gadfly running in hopes of getting invited to more parties.

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Often I say the most important group of candidates are those in Family Court because they're the ones you're most likely to end up standing in front of as they make decisions about your divorce and child custody, the most contentious and significant issues many will ever face. It's the court that gets the least publicity unless there's a dramatic case such as the stripping of parental rights because of neglect.

This might be a column worth clipping, not for my profundities, but to remind yourself to check out the candidates.

Today there is a Clark County Commissioner Debate and Candidates Faire. The League of Women Voters is the primary sponsor. Show up at 2 p.m. at the College of Southern Nevada's Cheyenne Campus Horn Theatre, 3200 E. Cheyenne, and you can meet many of the candidates running for offices in Clark County, including the judicial candidates. At 3 p.m. candidates running for County Commission will debate as public radio host Dave Berns moderates.

The league also has a Web site with candidate information at www.lwvlasvegasvalley.org. The voter information includes all the candidates on the Clark County ballot, from president on down, their top three priorities and their Web sites.

On Oct. 4 there's a program called You Be the Judge: A Judicial Candidate Forum. Mediators of Southern Nevada, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution and the Boyd School of Law are sponsoring this event at UNLV at the law school. From 10 a.m. to noon, the family court candidates will answer questions, and from 1-3 p.m. the District Court and Justice Court candidates will be featured. Call 631-2790 for further information.

Both events are open to anyone and both appear to be solid and reputable.

For sloths who prefer to see the candidates on television, Vegas PBS and the Las Vegas Review-Journal are sponsoring two Judicial Town Hall meetings airing on KLVX-TV, Channel 10 on Thursday and Oct. 9, both starting at 8:30 p.m. Mitch Fox moderates both town hall meetings and hosts a state Senate and county commission debate Oct. 16 and a congressional debate Oct. 23. The PBS schedule is on the Web site www.vegaspbs.org.

Jon Ralston's "Face to Face" on Cox Cable Channel 19 has a schedule of debates for a wide range of offices -- including the judges -- and it can be found at www.lasvegassun.com under Executive Producer Dana Gentry's blog.

Berns, host of "State of Nevada" on KNPR-FM radio 88.9 will have candidate debates and conversations beginning the second week of October. That schedule isn't finalized.

Groups sponsor many other opportunities for access, but because they focus on their own members, they can get the word out. But some of them are excellent.

For those who rely on the Las Vegas Review-Journal's handy dandy political guide to supplement daily news coverage, it will be published Oct. 19. (One practical tip: If the Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun both endorse the same candidate, as philosophically opposed as their respective editorial boards are, he or she is probably the best candidate in that race.)

Of the local television stations, KLAS-TV, Channel 8 has the best, most complete candidate information for local races at www.lasvegasnow.com with photos, age, educational experience and other information provided by the candidates.

That list is by no means all encompassing but provides for reliable sources of information.

You'll wish you'd paid more attention to the Family Court races when you're standing in court and muttering, "How'd this bozo get elected?"

Judge Bozo was elected because voters knew so little about the candidate.

I receive calls from people with cases in Family Court. While there are some excellent judges, there also are some of the weakest judges on the Nevada bench.

Pay attention now or live forever with your regrets.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Jessica W. wrote on November 16, 2008 06:47 PM: Since when is ignoring "guilty until proven innocent" and railroading innocent citizens because they are young and indigent "the lessor of two evils." Do your research and see how insidious DiGiacomo was in that trial. There was absolutely no evidence against that girl and DiGiacomo was ruthless. If she becomes a judge, the law is a joke. Mr. B wrote on September 28, 2008 09:20 PM: Hey GeezeLouise, Since when does a prosecutor convict anyone? Last I checked, the prosecutor presents evidence that a Judge determines if it is allowable and then a jury convicts. If you are trying to say that the prosecutors lied or knowingly presented false evidence, you have no foundation for that claim. You may believe that Kirstin Lobato was innocent but you weren't in the courtroom everyday for both trials. She was convicted of killing the victim by two juries. The latter jury merely felt that it didn't amount to 1st Degree Muder. smoky wrote on September 28, 2008 09:13 AM: Geezelouise; sometimes it's the lessor of two evils. Geezelouise wrote on September 28, 2008 05:31 AM: DiGiacomo is no angel either. Ask her how hard she worked to convict an innocent woman, Kirstin Lobato without any evidence. It was disgusting and unethical. We don't need the likes of her in any court. cat wrote on September 27, 2008 05:52 PM: I met quite a few Family ,and criminal court judges and of the ones I spoke to maybe one had a child enrolled in a public school ! I just found it ironic that they would,nt send their children to a public school they must know how bad the schools are!So lets keep sending our children to public school since most of us can,t afford Bishop Gorman ! InsideScoop wrote on September 27, 2008 05:26 PM: Yeah, and there are those like Judge Mosley who are fully vested and ready to retire as soon as elected again in order to collect that $30,000 increase. To Madgie: wrote on September 27, 2008 04:43 PM: One reason is that it comes with a $30,000.00 pay raise. Just returned from the Candidate Fair at the Community College. Very low potential voter turnout. More candidates than members of the public. As candidates we are disappointed that the public won't take the time to come and check us out. madgie wrote on September 27, 2008 12:57 PM: Can any one tell me the reason behind Judge Pomrenze Dept.E running for a new department in Family Court. If she is not elected, she will remain in Dept. E. She hasn't really lost anything. She is a Judge that beats only to her tune. She doesn't care about children or families. She should be on her own reality show and let viewer give feed back. It is obvious she never looks at her video's and her demeaning statements to litigants. I know many staffers and Judges at Family Court. No one there has anything positive to say about her. In fact, it is like she doesn't exsist. Her zero personality, lack of charm and beauty is nauseaing. And that carries over to the bench. As for Gibson, he's just riding the wave. It's all about the Pension. He has been a County employee for a number of years. And all he needs is 3 years at a higher paying salary and it's Good Bye. Gibson is a good ole boy, so he doesn't care what people say. He sits as a Abuse Neglect Hearing Master. And has been such for about 3 years. May be the same Juducial officer (Groucho Marx)that was destroying Galye Nathans signs a few years back is on the Gibson cheerleading tour. tmosley wrote on September 27, 2008 12:47 PM: Mr. B, you are correct. I know Sandra DiGiacomo by reputation and she would be an asset to all citizens of Henderson. Ironically, an advantage to electing DiGiacomo, is that she is not a card carrying member of the "good ol boys", for that very reason she will be met with unfair election practices for which you describe. DiGiacomo should force public debates and ask very direct questions of her opponent. Unfortunately, not only is it probable they will refuse, DiGiacomo will have to set aside perceived risks and commit to the belief that the people deserve the truth. Gibbon v Gibson, a Freudian slip? MR. B wrote on September 27, 2008 11:42 AM: Sorry about the name screwup in the previous post...the villian's name is David Gibson, not Gibbons... Read All Comments