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Politics runs in Nevada families
Offspring trying to follow in footsteps of prominent Nevada politicians
By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

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When it comes to political fortune, Nevada shows signs of becoming the Silver Spoon State.

Depending on the outcome of fall elections, posts that could be filled by the offspring of prominent politicians include governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and U.S. senator.

To some, this merely suggests parents passing down an affinity to their talented offspring. To others, it represents a dangerous slide from democracy toward aristocracy.

One thing is certain: There are more budding political dynasties on the ballot than ever before in Nevada, and maybe the nation.

"That is pretty impressive," said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution scholar, of the family ties on the Nevada ticket.

"I've been keeping track of this from the colonial era; I'm not quite sure I've ever heard of anything quite that complete," said Hess, the author of "America's Political Dynasties."

Thomas Whalen, a political historian at Boston University, said a troubling trend is emerging in Nevada.

"It is just disturbing to me, any notion of a political caste system," said Whalen, who has studied the Kennedy family in Massachusetts and other political dynasties. "It just seems to go against the very precepts by which this country was founded."

The list of power family members seeking to move up or keep a foothold in Nevada politics starts with Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the highest-ranking politician ever to come from the state.

It also includes Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Jessica Sferrazza, daughter of former Reno mayor Pete Sferrazza; Democratic Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, daughter of former Clark County Commissioner Manny Cortez; Democratic Secretary of State Ross Miller, son of former Gov. Bob Miller; and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian, son of Democratic Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian.

father and son

Rory Reid is the lone Democratic candidate for governor. His spokesman, Mike Trask, said Reid wouldn't conduct an interview on the subject of his family tree.

Reid is trailing Republican Brian Sandoval in polls but through December raised more than $3 million to Sandoval's $900,000.

Reid just finished a trip through rural Nevada communities such as Ely, Winnemucca and Minden, areas where animosity toward his father runs high.

"That has nothing to do with his son, but it sure may make it more difficult for his son," Hess said.

Rory Reid's strength lies in his prodigious ability to raise money, much of it from out-of-state donors with ties to the administration of President Bill Clinton.

His campaign team includes people from the campaigns of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, both of whom built strong political networks in Nevada for the 2008 presidential campaign.

That Reid has such a formidable team behind him comes as no surprise to Robert Tauber, a Republican who in 2002 ran against him for a seat on the Clark County Commission.

Tauber, who raised just a few thousand dollars to Reid's more than $1 million, said he never had a chance to win due in large part to the Reid name.

"My experience was that Harry Reid had essentially locked down all the financial sources that could be available," Tauber said. "This was quite a mountain to overcome, and I knew that. Nobody else would get in the race against him."

Rory Reid was former chairman of the Nevada State Democratic Party and Harry Reid was rising through the top ranks of the U.S. Senate.

"I went to the various major funding sources within the town, and the primary word that I received was, 'You're a great guy, but I'm concerned about what Harry Reid will do to my interests,' " Tauber said.

Despite losing to a candidate he says was born with an unbeatable advantage, Tauber doesn't harbor any animosity toward Rory Reid. He described Reid as soft-spoken and competent, and said he ran a clean campaign.

But Tauber wonders whether Reid's built-in advantage in 2002 will hurt him in 2010 in what will likely be a hard-fought campaign.

"You get your strength through conflict," Tauber said. "There was no real strength developed there."

Nevadans will find out soon enough whether the younger Reid can move up on the political food chain. A surname advantage typically doesn't last beyond the candidate's first electoral office, Hess said, so Reid will need more than that to become governor.

"Once they get over that first advantage they are pretty much on their own," Hess said.

father and daughter

If Reid does win the campaign for governor, he could be joined in Carson City by Northern Nevada political scion Jessica Sferrazza, a member of the Reno City Council.

In addition to being former mayor of Reno, her father was a two-time candidate for Congress and now is a justice of the peace.

Jessica Sferrazza launched her political career at 21 when she ran unsuccessfully for Reno mayor. She won her first race at 27 in 2000 to become the youngest elected member of the Reno council.

"Having the same last name helped me get involved in politics," Sferrazza said of her dad's influence. "My dad always had a reputation of fighting for the people."

Sferrazza said her accomplishments now stand for themselves. On her campaign Web site she takes credit for initiating a bond issue in 2002 to build an animal shelter, creating an affordable housing task force in 2006 and revitalizing formerly blighted areas of Reno.

"I'm a woman in my own right," she said. "I've always been a champion of the people, fought for those issues."

One of her opponents in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor sees the political connections of Sferrazza and the other second-generation politicians in a different light, however.

Paul Murad, who meets anyone's definition of a political outsider, said he thinks voters are weary of solutions to problems that come from inside the political establishment.

Murad, who grew up in Siberia, attended college at the University of Tulsa and embarked on an international business career before starting his own real estate business in Las Vegas, said his experience would lend fresh perspective to the job of lieutenant governor.

Murad said voters are tired of career politicians thinking more about their next political move than the people they're elected to serve. But he acknowledged he has to give "triple the amount of effort in order to get the same results" as an established candidate.

benefit and baggage

Still, family connections have a downside.

"The other side of it is you are going to carry whatever baggage your family has accumulated," said Dan Hart, a Democratic political consultant in Las Vegas, of second-generation candidates.

A high-profile name can also bring unwarranted attention.

For example, a 1992 incident in which a then 19-year-old Sferrazza was arrested, charged with battery and convicted of harassment following a fight with a 17-year-old Reno girl made news in Northern Nevada because of her political connections. The incident, which might have gone unnoticed but for her family name, was reported in the Sparks Tribune during her first mayoral campaign.

"It is also not easy to be the son or the daughter of a famous person," Hess said, citing the offspring of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Five of Roosevelt's children who survived into adulthood suffered in part from living in the shadows of famous parents. Their problems included business scandals, troubled personal relationships, broken marriages and other personal milestones played out in front of the public even when family members would have preferred privacy.

Patty Cafferata, daughter of former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Nev., who twice defeated Pete Sferrazza, described name recognition as a mixed blessing.

"It really depends on the family. It depends on the names," said Cafferata, who served in the Nevada Assembly and as state treasurer.

A popular name "translates into votes," she said. Conversely, "If they (voters) dislike the parent, that also translates into votes."

Although Cafferata doesn't share a last name with her mother, she said her family background helped her career.

"You grew up stuffing envelopes, ringing doorbells, collating materials. That certainly is an advantage. When people decide to run for office, many times they are very naive about what it takes to get elected and how hard it is and how much work it is."

Whalen doesn't buy the argument that political offspring win office because they are better candidates.

"I think that is a bunch of garbage," he said. "A lot of it is they have at their disposal the political machines their fathers and mothers have built."

Whalen doesn't blame the candidates, though. He blames voters for the prevalence of political dynasties.

He said voters are too lazy to research candidates' positions on issues and turn out in large enough numbers to prevent ideological zealots and political patrons from dominating the electoral system.

"We just roll over, and out of blind loyalty we vote for somebody because they have a famous last name. So it is our own damn fault."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at [email protected] or 702-477-3861.

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