October 21, 2008
Dear Editor:
In his October 14th column, Jon Ralston continued to press his recurring case that I am
acting like a puppet master behind the scenes of the Democratic races for state senate and
that candidates Shirley Breeden (SD-05) and Allison Copening (SD-06) are "all but
invisible." As minority leader I am certainly engaged in the races, but by no means are
Breeden and Copening disengaged.
Although the candidates have not appeared on Mr. Ralston's show, they do appear in their
senate districts every day talking to voters and earning their right to go to Carson City.
Both Ms. Breeden, a retired Clark County Schools administrator and mother of three and
Ms. Copening, a businesswoman and breast cancer survivor have knocked on thousands
of doors, done press interviews (including with the Las Vegas Sun), and appeared at press
conferences and at Nevada Speaks citizens forums. For some reason Mr. Ralston chose
not to attend any one of these events. Last week both candidates appeared at a public
debate with their Republicans opponents.
Furthermore, Mr. Ralston's column went off on an inaccurate rant claiming that the
combination of Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and I leading the legislature would
be "bone chilling for many in the business community" and accusing me of leading a
Democratic Senate that would contain "Petri dishes to grow all manner of what might be
perceived as anti-business legislation" without naming one single proposal the Democrats
have produced that would chill anyone's bones.
Again, if Mr. Ralston had chosen to take a seat next to the hundreds of citizens who have
come to our Nevada Speaks forums, driven over to one of our press conferences or
simply picked up the phone to call he would have learned about the common sense
platform the Senate Democratic Caucus has laid out. We will:
1. Balance Nevada's Current Budget Responsibly and Better Plan for Nevada's
Future.
2. Promote Renewable Energy as Nevada's New Economy
3. Prepare Nevada Children Ready to Compete in the 21st Century by 2020
4. Expand access and transparency in health care with a focus on children, seniors
and employees of small business.
5. Protect homeowners from increased property taxes and find solutions to the
housing/foreclosure crisis
Mr. Ralston may be opposed to this agenda, but his reporting should reflect reality and
anyone whose bones are chilled by these ideas should just get a blanket.
Sincerely,
Senator Steven Horsford
Minority Leader, Nevada Senate