POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Hardesty seeks re-election in '10 - News

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Nov. 09, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CLARIFICATION -- 11/10/09 -- An item in Monday’s Political Notebook should have stated that Las Vegas Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick is moderating a Nov. 19 forum for U.S. Senate candidates sponsored by the Boulder City Republican Women.

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Hardesty seeks re-election in '10

High court justice, LV judge honored

By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty announced last week he will run for re-election next year. He was first elected to the high court in 2004.
Photo by Gary Thompson

Sue Lowden
Challenges Harry Reid on health care costs

Danny Tarkanian
Backs access to health insurance for all kids

Some judicial branch news was overshadowed last week by the health care debate in Washington and campaigning in the U.S. Senate race in Nevada.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty will seek re-election in 2010.

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Hardesty is a former chief District Court judge in Washoe County who was elected to the high court in 2004, the wire service said.

In recent years, the Attorneys for Criminal Justice gave him their "Defender of the Sixth Amendment" award and Nevada Legal Services picked him for its "Champion of Justice" award.

Las Vegas Municipal Judge Cedric Kerns was honored with a 2009 Community Planner Award.

Kerns was selected for his commitment to supporting 12-step programs and other recovery efforts.

The statement announcing the award said Kerns "has seen an innumerable amount of habitual repeat offenders and recognizes the correlation between drug use/abuse and criminal behavior."

LOWDEN, TARKANIAN ON HEALTH CARE

While Nevada's elected officials in Congress were preparing to vote on proposed health care reform legislation, the candidates seeking to challenge them in 2010 were doing some positioning of their own on the issue.

Republican candidates for U.S. Senate Danny Tarkanian and Sue Lowden, who are among several Republicans seeking the nomination to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., each made health care moves.

Tarkanian announced he would launch an initiative drive that would ensure that if states are given a choice to opt in or out of new federal health programs, the decision in Nevada would be up to the voters.

Tarkanian said he was opposed to much of the reforms the Democratic majority in Congress crafted, but that he does support access to health insurance coverage for all children even if it costs the government money.

Lowden issued a statement challenging Reid to answer three questions about the legislation: one about the cost, another about whether the plan would raise taxes, and a third about whether it would improve Medicare.

Republicans seeking to challenge Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., sent out statements to the media late last week to make sure they would be included in coverage of any votes.

And Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., a reform supporter, reminded people the majority plan has support from AARP, the American Cancer Society and the American Medical Association.

FORUM FOR U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES

On Nov. 19, the Review-Journal will hold a senatorial candidate forum for eight Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate in 2010.

The meeting, sponsored by the Boulder City Republican Women, will be at the Railroad Pass Hotel/Casino Banquet Room at 11:30 a.m. Candidates participating include Mark Amodei, Sharron Angle, Chuck Kozak, Lowden, Bill Parson, Tarkanian, Robin Titus and Mike Wiley.

REID REMEMBERS SHAFFER

The death of former state Sen. Ray Shaffer prompted a note of memorial from U.S. Sen. Reid, who wrote: "Through the years, Ray did an excellent job representing the people of North Las Vegas, and I know they will miss him. My heart goes out to his wife, Sharon, who was truly Ray's partner in life. You would be hard-pressed to find a time when Sharon wasn't by Ray's side during his many endeavors. My thoughts go out to all of Ray's family and friends during this difficult time."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman @reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.

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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. matt wrote on November 09, 2009 09:16 PM: atdLeft: I don't see anything wrong with what they're saying. Everything that they've said thus far has been way better than what Reid has come up in the past 6 years. matt wrote on November 09, 2009 09:14 PM: Wow Harry, what's up with the name calling? Stop acting like a 3rd grader and speak intelligently. Unreal! SAM wrote on November 09, 2009 11:05 AM: PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to JaIL.Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain â€œacceptable health insurance coverageâ€ and who choose not to pay the billâ€™s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.Democrats cheered and high-fived each other in the House chamber after lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to pass the landmark measure at 11:12 p.m. A lone GOPer, Rep. Joseph Cao of Louisiana, backed the bill, while 39 Dems defected. VOTE THE 220 LAWMARKERS THAT SUPPORT THIS EVIL BILL OUT IN 2010 Harry wrote on November 09, 2009 09:54 AM: Is that rally a picture of Sue Lowden? I mean, either The LVRJ has the wrong picture, or this is an older picture of her and she has had A LOT of work done! That doesn't even resemble (except the hair color) the Sue Lowden I have seem recently...wow. Maybe all the plastic surgery has squeezed her brain and that is why she says all those dumb things. Ken wrote on November 09, 2009 08:34 AM: A fourth question for Reid should be why isn't Congress required to obtain state sponsored healthcare like they are imposing on the rest of the nation. Reid, Pelosi and Obama are nothing more than government employees and should have the same healthcare plan they are forcing on everyone else. But in the House, Democrats already decided that they want to keep their Gold Tier Package that no one else in government has. I'm sure we can come up with some more questions for Reid to evada. Too_many_laws wrote on November 09, 2009 07:17 AM: Tarkanian said .. he does support access to health insurance coverage for all children even if it costs the government money. Sharron Angle is the only non-RINO in the bunch. The only thing Hardesty knows about justice is maybe how to spell it. atdleft wrote on November 09, 2009 07:06 AM: Haha. Miss Sue Low-down & Lil' Tark Shark have NO ideas on health care reform, so they just resort to attacking Reid. The more those GOoPers open their mouths, the more foolish they look. Vote NO wrote on November 09, 2009 05:56 AM: You got to be joking. Hardesty is abusive towards the people. He sides with the made up stories of the DA and cops and has filled the prison system with innocient people. Hardesty cannot be trusted. YOUR RIGHT! wrote on November 09, 2009 03:14 AM: Chief Justice Hardesty received numerous domestic violence cases from the second and eighth judiciaries. In these domestic violence cases, the victims are court ordered into their abusers care. Chief Justic Hardesty supports these rulings. The deaths of Clark County children by their abusers is up 230% this year.