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Oceguera announces run for Congress
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John Oceguera
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Jul. 19, 2011 | 8:24 a.m.
The 2012 congressional race in Southern Nevada lurched into gear when Assembly Speaker John Oceguera announced on Monday his candidacy, though for which House seat remains uncertain.
A Democrat from Las Vegas, Oceguera said he would "stand up to Washington," including politicians who have called Social Security a "pyramid scheme," a swipe at U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., his potential foe.
Also, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, who lost to Heck in 2010, called supporters to say she would announce a House run as soon as this week after resigning from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. She isn't expected to battle Heck in the 3rd Congressional District but to run for another seat instead.
"It's becoming more imminent that I'll become a candidate," Titus said in an interview. "So I thought that (resigning) would be the proper thing to do. You can't be a candidate and be on the commission," she added, referring to the Hatch Act that bars federal employees from political activity.
Oceguera and Titus are among several Southern Nevada Democrats preparing congressional runs, even though boundaries remain unknown for the House districts, including a fourth seat the state gained when the U.S. Census put its population at 2.7 million. As a result, candidates aren't yet certain in which district they will run.
Since the Legislature earlier this year failed to agree on outlines for the districts, a Carson City district judge plans to appoint a special panel to draw the lines. This could take months, and it might be open to legal challenges by the Republican and Democratic parties or even Latinos.
Meanwhile, serious candidates need to announce to raise money and organize campaign teams and supporters, because a competitive House race in Nevada can cost $2 million to $3 million.
"It's all so they can fundraise," said Dave Damore, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "What's so interesting is you have so many Democrats who want to run."
Oceguera, an assistant North Las Vegas fire chief, was expected to seek a House seat. He was termed out after serving in the Legislature for 12 years, including his final term as Assembly speaker.
Titus, a former state senator for two decades, has long made it clear she wanted to return to Washington. She recently took a buyout from UNLV, where she was a political science professor. She resigned from the civil rights panel July 16 .
Other Democrats expected to make congressional runs in 2012 include state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford of Las Vegas, state Sen. Ruben Kihuen of Las Vegas, and state Sen. John Lee of North Las Vegas, who planned to formally announce his bid within two weeks.
Most Democrats are expected to compete for the new 4th Congressional District and the 1st Congressional District now held by U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who's running for the Senate.
Both the 1st and 4th districts will probably lean Democratic by party registration and one may be heavily Hispanic. Republicans had suggested one seat be a minority-majority district with 50 percent of the population Hispanic, but Democratic leaders of the Legislature rejected the idea.
Instead, Democrats proposed maps that would make at least one of the Southern Nevada districts one-third Latino, while more evenly distributing the rest of the Hispanics as potential swing voters.
Berkley's urban Clark County district should remain so, which could set up a Democratic primary between Kihuen and Horsford, who as the first African-American leader of the state Senate has strong support from the minority community. As a national Democratic committeeman, Horsford also has deep party ties, and his work with the Culinary Union is another boost.
Kihuen has been wooed by the White House and Latino groups, but as a young senator in the middle of his first term he might be persuaded to wait his turn.
"The numerous calls from constituents and community leaders asking me to run are very encouraging and humbling, but I will make a final decision when the time is right," Kihuen said Monday.
Lee, a moderate Democrat, would do better in a new 4th Congressional District if the lines were drawn to include conservative areas in Clark County such as Mesquite and even outside it. Heck is hoping to keep some of those same GOP-leaning cities and towns, however.
Oceguera, who lives in the current 3rd Congressional District, appears to be gearing up to challenge Heck. The district leans Democratic but will lose almost half its voters in redistricting and is likely to remain a swing seat. During the legislative session, Oceguera reached out to Republicans during budget talks. He also pushed through education reforms, including some that other Democrats resisted.
He helped negotiate the $6.2 billion state budget deal with Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and the GOP minority in the Assembly. But it came after he and other Democratic leaders had been at odds for months with Republicans over whether to extend a $600 million package of taxes for two years to balance the budget. Oceguera was among Democratic leaders who also had pushed a $1.2 billion tax plan that would have also imposed new levies on businesses and a sales tax on services.
The Democrats' tax plan failed. But Sandoval and some Republicans finally agreed to extend the $600 million tax package from 2009 after the governor said a Nevada Supreme Court ruling called into question $600 million in funds the state had planned to use from local governments and other entities.
On federal issues, Oceguera refused Monday to be specific about how the U.S. should handle its growing debt and on whether Medicare and Social Security should be on the negotiating table.
"We're going to have plenty of time to get into that," Oceguera said . "I'm not elected to Congress yet."
The Republican Party immediately criticized Oceguera.
"Oceguera's bid for Congress, made before even understanding or caring about the constituency he claims to want to represent, is an action of a termed-out assemblyman who is panicking at the thought of losing one of his government paychecks," said Amy Tarkanian, chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party.
Stephens Media Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report. Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.
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I would vote for Elmer Fudd before I'd vote for this guy. I trust Elmer.
PS Pete, the "underworked" talk is amazing. Have you followed the man's schedule at any point? He's managed to meet his obligations in his department, go back and forth to Carson, handle to duties of Speaker, etc., etc. The underworked chatter is nonsense.
I'll make sure everyone in my neighborhood knows when its election time that this guy is a...union hack, grossly overpaid, grossly underworked, a extra-ordinary firefighter system scammer, a do-nothing, a public employee union backer, greedy, North Las Vegas fire hoseholder and loafer! Say, why is it we never hear from our local FIREFIGHTER UNION LEADER "Hero" Ryan Beaman...he is: Shamefull and a Union Hack.
Renee: I don't think he can be in a union if he is Asst. Chief. He is a former union hack. Past tense.
Another career Democrap looking to set himself up for life with the DC crowd.
Union hack.
Another career polititian going to stand up to Washington, think he could be more creative......for a high paying position......
@jessw: We hate him because we do know him.
Jenny Walker- or should I say Titus/Oceguera campaign worker- don't insult my intelligence. I'm a real Nevadan asking Ruben to run for Congress and I'm sure every single one of those people asking him to run are real people as well. I really hope he does decide to run so he can teach them other scumbag self-serving politicians a lesson. Out with the old, in with the new.
Here is the thing folks, given the results of what happen this legislative session, and knowing what could have happened and should have happened, none of the legislators running deserve to get out of the gate. I was appalled at what took place this legislative session, what a bunch of glad-handing, self-serving, egomantics we had serving. They accomplished NOTHING!! Educational reform? Are you kidding me??? Horsford was a disappointment. So was Oceguera. Don't go touting Titus, Heck or the others because they have not done much better with their terms in the batter's box. The state of NV is no better off than we werre 2 years ago. 4 years ago, 6 years ago etc. The state's tax system is BROKEN! IT needs to be FIXED! IT should have been fixed LONG ago! Every legislature for the last 20 years has not done the job. Sandoval said he was the man. Oh yeah, really?? Not so much. This legislature had potential to do something, but they did not stand up to the Bozo of a Governor that we have. We need real leads here and in WA to solve real problems with real solutions. I would not vote for even one of these clowns, NOT ONE!! Citzens stand up and lead, because unfortunately your so called leaders can't.
Firefighters received 20-30K per WEEK? from Fema? I think firefighters are extremely well paid already, thanks.