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Reid, Sandoval spar in feisty debate
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ROSS ANDERSON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gubernatorial candidates Rory Reid, left, and Brian Sandoval shake hands Tuesday after their debate at Great Basin College in Elko.
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Democrat Rory Reid called Republican Brian Sandoval the "biggest quitter in the history of Nevada" on Tuesday evening, and Sandoval invoked Reid's famous father, the Senate majority leader.
Their comments were part of the most feisty debate yet between the two leading candidates for governor, coming a week before Election Day and with Reid trailing in the polls.
Rory Reid, chairman of the Clark County Commission, was the aggressor most of the night, with Sandoval, a former federal judge, looking to play defense and undermine Reid's repeated attacks.
Reid attacked Sandoval's lack of a detailed plan to balance the state budget, and he tried to turn Sandoval's lengthy resume into a liability by depicting the Republican as a quitter.
"Your experience is the experience of the biggest quitter in the history of Nevada," Reid said, referencing Sandoval's background as an assemblyman, gaming commission chairman, attorney general, federal judge and gubernatorial candidate. "Nobody has quit more than you."
Sandoval tried to turn around the quitter label by reminding the audience at Great Basin College in Elko and on statewide television that Reid's father had supported his career in backing the Republican's nomination to the federal bench.
"It was a privilege to be recommended by your father to the federal bench," Sandoval said. "He never questioned my integrity."
At two other points, Sandoval referenced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a federal health insurance reform law that polls show is unpopular in Nevada despite being shepherded into law by Sen. Harry Reid.
Sandoval promised to continue the state's lawsuit seeking to block the law from taking effect. Rory Reid tersely said he would oppose such a lawsuit.
At one point, Reid rattled off four dates during the campaign when Sandoval promised a budget plan.
"The election is in a week. Where is your balanced budget plan?" Reid asked. "In the last two minutes, you said more about the budget than you have in the year that you have been campaigning."
Sandoval blamed the delay on waiting for the arrival of estimates from state departments that came in last week before he elaborated on his overall proposal.
The gist of Sandoval's plan is to roll back general fund spending to about $5.2 billion during the upcoming biennium, less than the $5.8 billion spent in the 2005-07 budget. He justified it by saying the population in Nevada has fallen 2.6 percent since 2007 and demand for some state services has declined or remained flat, yet spending has increased 38 percent.
"I waited to get the real numbers," Sandoval said, again slamming what he said was Reid's "fantasy" plan, which includes $615 million most analysts say won't materialize. "We can live within our means."
After the debate, Jeremy Aguero of the economics research firm Applied Analysis said Sandoval's own figures suggest such a rollback is unrealistic.
Aguero said the declining population has sucked tax revenue out of the state and the remaining residents are demanding more, not fewer, services from government in the form of welfare, unemployment insurance benefits and education.
"It seems to me that creates a larger problem, not a smaller one," Aguero said. He also said many costs are out of the governor's control.
"The cost of energy you can't roll back to 2007, you can't roll back the cost of health care to 2007," Aguero said.
David Damore, a professor of political science at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Reid scored more points than Sandoval during the hourlong debate.
"I think Rory won," Damore said. "He came out early and said, 'Where's the plan, Brian?' "
Damore also said Reid's charge was likely too little, too late, as Sandoval has led Reid by double digits in nearly every statewide poll, and many voters have already cast their ballots.
"It is coming too late to really do any damage here," Damore said.
Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.
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With only 6 days until election, I have spent the past 9 months meeting candidates in many races.
Mr. Sandoval's character and integrety standout. I am impressed by his depth of knowledge on every topic he questioned.
Mr. Sandoval is not only the best choice but the only choice for Governor !!
LVGRAMPS IS REALLY GOV.JIM GIBBONS! VOTE LATINO,VOTE SANDOVAL. SI SE PUEDE! LA RAZA TAKING OVER ONE STATE AT A TIME,GRINGOS!
The only real problem with the Reids is they breed.
IT'S OVER for rory, try as he might; he came off as a one-note whiner. Now Sandoval do you have the balls to be the gov that is needed?
In the bi-annual budget Nevada can save 2 billion dollars; since we WASTE 1 billion per year OVER PAYING public unions ABOVE what the private sector gets.
FILE BANKRUPTCY; fire all government employees and re-hire those willing to work for the national average of the private sector with those same private sector benefits.
But just watch, our wh0re politicians will tax their employers the citizens and hand out largesse to the public unions.
BTW Nevada looses 1 billion dollars per year on illegal aliens. Start at the hospitals because this is where HUGE dollar volume is wasted; an example is UMC in Las Vegas where illegal aliens cost the dialysis unit 10 million plus $s every year and no one even stops by to check on legal eligibility for these services.
Vote Brian Sanderson!!! The man from the peasant hispanic family who rise has allowed him to become a white man.
Let KEEP.OBAMA enjoy his OBAMA...NURE while we Nevadans will clean up our Houses.
Rewarding poor decision making in life by giving to people what belongs to others is not compassion. Compassion is not creating a bunch of helpless government dependent slugs feeding of the productive like parasites. That is anti-compassion. Democrats have ruined the word compassion for those that really deserve it.
Sandoval already had my family's votes JUST BECAUSE WE CAN NOT AFFORD ANOTHER STUPID REID in Nevada's political arena.
Rory has had to have prior knowledge of his fathers land deals and other little "questionable" acts. This is what you want for governor? Better read about all the land deals this and the former County Commission voted on and smilingly gave variances on. One of the best is that golf course and proposed town of Coyote Springs by his father and his great friend lobbyist Harvey Whittamore or his dealings via the commission with Brian Greenspun (green valley, las vegas sun, cox cable many others). With this man in charge you greenies are going to see bad things happen. Land is more important to these people that environment. Look what their policies have done to this valley in a very short time. We're running out of water and our infrastructure is a mess. Think state wide.
Rory Reid is a joke...a bumbling bafoon just like dear ol dad. He's not a leader, he is sheep and a follower. He wants to be seen as the Michelin man when he reality he walks around and shows the demeanor of the pillsberry doughboy.. Rory is a joke, a loser and an obvious embarassement to the state. I think Arnold refers to them as "Girlie" man