Early polls have Titus way up on Masto for Senate
Maybe we should be grateful it wasn’t a tweet.
Forget holding an actual news conference, or even playing host to an informal gathering of political reporters. Former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on Wednesday still made plenty of headlines with her “email to supporters” informing them she had decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated with the retirement of Minority Leader Harry Reid.
Reid, who used YouTube and public radio late last month to announce his departure from the Senate stage in 2017 at the end of his fourth term, followed with an email bouquet and fundraising pitch on Cortez Masto’s behalf. He had made no secret of his affection for Cortez Masto.
“Today we got our wish,” Reid enthused.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, via an email from its chairman, Sen. Jon Tester, swiftly added its endorsement of Cortez Masto.
You would almost think some folks were trying to dissuade other Democrats from entering the race.
“I’m running for the Senate to continue my work standing up for Nevada seniors, consumers, homeowners, women and children,” her news release said. “… As a native Nevadan, former prosecutor and Attorney General I care about the people of our state and that’s who I’ll be standing up for in the Senate.”
Cortez Masto is said to have been considering the campaign for some time after being approached by Reid. And the senator makes no bones about his backing of the daughter of his longtime friend, the late Democrat and County Commissioner Manny Cortez. If Cortez Masto had a fan club, Reid would be chairman.
Nor is it startling that Reid passed on yet another opportunity to back hard-campaigning Rep. Dina Titus for the seat. He has encouraged others ahead of Titus in previous gubernatorial and House campaigns.
Titus, whose Congressional District 1 heavily favors Democrats, is weighing her options.
I don’t know whether Titus will decide to leave the comfort of her district and risk running in a statewide race, but if she declines, it certainly won’t be from a lack of positive poll numbers.
A recent poll by Silver Bullet LLC of Democrats likely to vote in the primary has Titus thumping Cortez Masto if the election were held now. With a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percent, the survey has Titus at 44 percent with Cortez Masto a distant second at 20 percent. It’s awfully early, obviously.
All other candidates received 3 percent or less. One of those, former Secretary of State Ross Miller, on Wednesday rushed to tweet out his support for Cortez Masto.
COWBOY SHERIFF: Former Clark County Sheriff Ralph Lamb celebrates his 88th birthday today. It’s only a rumor he’ll commemorate the occasion by riding his horse into a local watering hole.
Some of the sheriff’s longtime friends are gathering to swap stories and remember some of the good old, bad old days when Lamb was the most powerful elected official in Nevada.
PPA PAYDAYS: The Las Vegas Police Protective Association’s Executive Director Chris Collins has been pushed out by the cop union’s board of directors, but that won’t solve the problems facing it and other public employee organized labor groups.
Eight PPA executives receive more than $1.6 million in taxpayer-funded salaries and benefits, according to TransparentNevada.com. If the legislation curtailing such financing, Assembly Bill 182, passes into law, the union executives will have to hit up the membership for the money, come up with another funding source or find a fellow with Collins’ political contacts to make another approach at the next session of the Legislature.
DOOLEY DUEL: John Dooley was a dedicated educator who influenced a generation of students at Henderson’s Basic High. I’m not sure what he would say about the battle going on pitting parents and teachers against the administration of Dooley Elementary.
Parents continue to send blistering letters to the press and legislators in Carson City complaining about Dooley Principal Shannon Schumm. The laments are varied, but all paint a portrait of the principal as a micro-manager and tyrant. The kicker: Dooley is a five-star elementary school, on paper one of the Clark County School District’s finest.
District officials should address this issue publicly before it gets worse. To do less is a disservice to the principal, current and former teachers and staff, and parents.
ON THE BOULEVARD: A toast to the “pure host” Allan “Jamup” Hirschorn, who died this week in California after a long battle with brain cancer. Working at Steve Wynn’s Mirage and Bellagio, Jamup was one-in-a-million. … This year’s Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame ceremony should be star-studded. It’s set for May 1 at Caesars Palace, the night before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao blockbuster. Tickets: nvbhof.com. In the “non-boxer participant” category: trainer-gym operators Dawn and Pat Barry, announcer Chuck Hull, press agent Lee Samuels, physicians Donald Romeo and Robert Voy, and reporter Steve Snedden.
Have an item for Bard of the Boulevard? Email comments and contributions to jsmith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. Follow him on Twitter @jlnevadasmith
