Who Should Run in NV-02? Take the Poll

Up North put up a poll at Helluva Heller with possible Democratic candidates to run against Rep. Dean Heller in 2008.

You can choose between NV State Treasurer Kate Marshall, Assembly members Sheila Leslie, Debbie Smith, and David Bobzien, 2006 candidate and newly elected NV Dem party chair Jill Derby, NV Dem 2nd Vice Chair and former Miss Nevada Teresa Benitez Thompson, and Washoe County Dem Chair and environmental litigation lawyer Chris Wicker.

Vote here!

My Meeting with David Bobzien

During our three weeks in the US in January Alex and I got to spend four days in northern Nevada (more on that later). Before heading out to California, we met newly elected Assembly member David Bobzien for coffee. I had sent him an email a couple weeks earlier requesting an autograph for my collection and he suggested meeting for coffee at Bibo Coffee Co on Mt Rose St in Reno.

David's an intelligent guy who will surely make his constituents proud. We talked about his victory over an incumbent Republican and what it took (a lot of door knocking after work) to get elected.

His first week in the Assembly (after being sworn in January) started on Monday with the election of Nevada's first female Speaker, Barbara Buckley. David said that he'll try to post updates on the blog he started during his campaign and has just posted about the first 24 hours.

Unfortunately, David's district only covers a part of Reno and does not stretch up to Lake Tahoe. Since Tahoe is now represented by James Settelmayer and the joke that is Ty Cobb (someone please tell him that the Nevada Assembly ain't the House of Representatives!), I hereby declare David Bobzien honorary Assembly member for Lake Tahoe! David, watch out for the interests of the Lake!

Nevada Legislature Open for Business

The business of the people that is. And let's hope they'll remember it.

This Legislature will see the first female Assembly speaker, the slimmest of slim majorities for the Republicans in the Senate and 11 new freshmen, one in the Senate and ten in the Assembly. Among them David Bobzien, the new Assembly member for the 24th district in Reno. I got to meet David a couple of weeks ago in Reno. More on that in the coming days.

Here are two articles on the convening of the Legislature. One by Brendan Riley for the AP, another by Geoff Dornan for the Nevada Appeal. The latter has a list of interesting legislature statistics.