Candidates sign up early for state offices

Both the Republican and Democratic front runner in the race for Nevada governor formally filed for office this morning.

Filing for the 2006 election opened at 8 a.m. today and will close at 5 p.m. May 12. Though many had announced their plans to run, today is the first day to make those declarations official.

Republican Jim Gibbons said he would seriously consider a rebate to Nevadans if there is surplus revenue in the state treasury while Titus rejected that idea.

Gibbons said much like giving a retailer a $5 bill for a $3 purchase, Nevadans are entitled to their change if tax revenues exceed needs.

"I think Nevada is worth investing in," said Democrat Dina Titus, state Senate Minority Leader. "That surplus could be reinvested in the state."

She said surplus money could be used as incentives to business to provide health insurance or incentives to provide day care for workers. She said it could also create an infrastructure fund to provide loans for school districts to build new schools or rehabilitate older schools.

Gibbons said he supports improving education, including giving teachers a "better salary." He said his emphasis wouldn't necessarily be on increasing the percentage of state money schools get but reducing the percentage of school money that goes for bureaucracy and expenses not related to teaching.

He said it would be an improvement "if we could get 65 cents of every dollar down into the classroom instead of 60 cents or so that gets there now."

On construction, he said he would support moving more of the Southern Nevada Lands Act money from environmental and other uses into education funding to help pay for new schools and other needs.

Gibbons said there are needs which must be taken care of in Nevada and that he would work with lawmakers to decide how any surplus money is spent if elected governor.

Titus said she is planning a comprehensive economic development program, "not just providing a little tax incentive to California companies to come here."

"We need to grow our own businesses," she said.

And she challenged Gibbons' commitment to renewable energy development saying he is "somebody who voted for millions in tax breaks" for big oil companies.

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, also a Republican, also filed for governor Monday. She did so at the secretary of state's Las Vegas office.

Secretary of State Dean Heller and primary opponent Sharron Angle were among the first to do the paperwork.

The two Republicans are running for Jim Gibbons seat representing Congressional District 3, which covers all of Nevada except the Las Vegas area.

The other announced candidates, Republican Dawn Gibbons and Democrat Jill Derby, are expected to file later this week.

Angle repeated her long-standing mantra that she stands for "lower taxes, less government regulation and to secure our borders." She says proudly she has voted against tax increases 60 times while a member of the Nevada Legislature.

"This is not about personal things," she said. "It's about what we've done in office."

Angle said she has been a strong opponent of tax increases since she was first elected and her record will show that.

She described hers is a grassroots campaign with the average contribution standing at just $143.

But Heller pointed out the majority of that money, particularly her major contributions, come from out-of-state sources.

"Who's she going to represent since 90 percent of her money comes from out of state?" he asked.

Heller said taxation will always be a strong issue but that "I think immigration and gas prices right now are the hot issues."

He said he supports authorizing more exploration off-shore and in Alaska to help the U.S. supply its petroleum needs for the near future. But he said long term, the nation must look at developing renewable sources and consider additional nuclear power plants.

But he said that doesn't mean dumping the nuclear waste produced by those plants in Nevada.

Heller said the problem isn't new and isn't something that can be blamed on any one administration.

"It's the result of bad economic policies for 30 years," he said. "The problem is we use 30 percent of the world's oil and we produce about 5 percent of it. This is a supply issue."

Republicans John Marvel and Mike Weber both filed for Assembly District 32, representing Lander, Humboldt and northern Washoe County first thing this morning.

Marvel has represented the district since the 1979 Legislature. He is tied for second in overall legislative seniority with Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Elko.

Weber said electing him this time would give him seniority over a host of newcomers when term limits first takes effect in 2009. He said he would have a leg up in getting a leadership position in the Assembly.

Marvel said with Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick of Gardnerville bowing out, the north stands to lose two seats on the powerful Ways and Means Committee if he leaves the Legislature this year.

Weber ran four years ago and was defeated by Marvel.