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Nevada is complicated
……Republican Brian Sandoval is the incumbent governor of Nevada. He became a US District Court Judge with the support of then Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. After four years, he resigned from the judiciary to run for Governor. He beat his predecessor in the primary and Rory Reid, Harry’s son, in the general. While Governor, Sandoval became divorced from his wife of many years.
……Republican Jim Gibbons was Sandoval’s predecessor. When he was elected to the US House of Representatives, his wife remained in Nevada. She was elected to the State Assembly. Then he was elected Governor. After taking office, he filed for divorce, “citing grounds of incompatibility,” according to Wikipedia, “stemming from an undisclosed event in Reno”. She remained in the Governor’s mansion and he went home.
……Adam Paul Laxalt, the Attorney General of Nevada, is the Republican candidate for Governor. His mother, Michelle Laxalt, is a well-known Republican lobbyist in Washington. His grandfather, Paul Laxalt, was the US Senator from Nevada. His father, Pete Domenici, was the US Senator from New Mexico — information disclosed only five years ago.
……Steve Sisolak https://stevesisolak.com/is the Democratic nominee for Governor. He has his own complicated life. He is a father of two daughters he raised alone. As best I can tell, he was never divorced from their mother and she is still alive. He describes himself as a moderate, a pragmatist, and a problem solver. When he solves problems, he does not always strive for mutual agreement. ……After breaking up with a girlfriend of four years, Steve Sisolak recorded a session with the girlfriend’s lawyer and turned the tape over to the police as evidence of an extortion attempt. The lawyer had proposed three or four million dollars in compensation for dropping a complaint about Sisolak’s supposed improper behavior with the girlfriend’s teenage daughter. The girlfriend and the daughter dropped the complaint, the daughter saying she had been coerced into making a false statement.
……Steve Sisolak bought property near the Las Vegas airport. The airport expanded as the city grew. As the airport expanded, it set restrictions on the height of nearby buildings. As required, the airport compensated landowners for land it took in order to expand. It did not compensate Steve Sisolakfor restrictions on the height of buildings on his land. He sued. He won. He was awarded seven or eight million dollars.
……Steve Sisolak does solve problems. Sometimes he solves several problems at once. During the campaign, he is running an advertisement with his two daughters. They explain that when they reached a certain age, when they had things to discuss that they were unlikely to talk to a father about, he sent them to Planned Parenthood. In this advertisement, he announces himself as a single father. He demonstrates long standing support for Planned Parenthood. He demonstrates his good sense.
……Until October 1, Steve Sisolak was a pro-gun, NRA A- rated Democrat. His website says the Las Vegas mass shooting transformed his views on gun safety. Nevada passed a referendum requiring background checks and banning bump stocks that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons. But Governor Sandoval has not put the law into effect. Steve Sisolak promises that he will.
……A former member of the state Board of Regents, Steve Sisolak‘s core issue is education. He says there are too many kids in classes, teachers don’t get paid enough, the state does not spend enough on education. These statements resonate in the West at a time when teachers in Arizona and Oklahoma have gone on strike to pressure state legislatures for higher pay and increased education spending.
……Steve Sisolak is an unusual candidate this season.He is a man who defeated a woman in a Democratic primary. Women have been winning Democratic primaries throughout the country. Steve Sisolak is a man who supports education and Planned Parenthood, who now supports gun safety.
……Steve Sisolak is a man who also works to appeal to men. Look at his website. Look at the picture. There is a trio in the middle of the picture — two paunchy men facing each other – one of them Steve Sisolak. In between, an African-American woman held by the shoulder by someone behind Steve Sisolak so that she is almost hugging him. A slew of men (and a couple of boys) surrounds the trio. Most are wearing a hard hat or a baseball cap. This is a picture of working men. They are not idealized, but they do support Steve Sisolak for Governor.
……Steve Sisolak is not unusual among Democrats in describing himself as a moderate. Among Congressional candidates, if Democrats gain control of Congress, the Democratic Congressional caucus will be more moderate than it is now. That is a little less true of Democratic candidates for governor. Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Richard Cordry in Ohio are not seen as moderates. They are pragmatic, though.
……Steve Sisolak describes himself as a moderate and a pragmatist who is comfortable with leadership. Steve Sisolak https://stevesisolak.com/ is progressive enough. His opponent is more of an ideologue. For instance, he describes advocates of gun safety as zealots.
……The purpose of these Notes is to encourage people to support Democratic candidates. Help Steve Sisolakwin this election. He has had to spend to win a primary. Even though he is more than prosperous — inheritor of a family fuel delivery business that grew as Las Vegas grew, he is not one of the billionaires running for office. He will spend some of his own money, but he needs campaign donations as well.
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