Ben Breier's blog

It's been all downhill for Nevada's state budget ever since Director of Administration Andrew Clinger's Election Week announcement that the state would likely have to come up with another $250 million in cuts.

Shortly after Chancellor Jim Rogers made a request for $3 billion in federal assistance to balance the state budget, Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks) is calling for an examination of all possible solutions to the deficit, including an economic stimulus package focused on helping the states.

Jim Gibbons

Governor Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks) announced Friday he would be appointing Teri Thienhaus as the new director of the State Department of Personnel. She will be replacing interim director Shelley Blotter no later than Dec. 8, according to a statement from the governor's office.

With political eyes and ears in Nevada focusing on the presidential election and close contests to determine who will represent Nevada in the House of Representatives, a couple of big stories aren't getting the attention they might normally receive.

A Nevada political consultant is predicting that Rep. Dean Heller could pull out a tight victory over challenger Jill Derby, while state Sen. Dina Titus will hold her lead over Rep. Jon Porter, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The Nevada Tax Commission yesterday granted an extension to the tax amnesty plan of Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks), which the governor has touted as being more successful than originally planned.

The bipartisan rift that helped doom Monday's U.S. House vote on the proposed $700 billion financial sector bailout split Nevada's congressional delegation, a division also seen in many states coast-to-coast.

In a statement released earlier today, Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks) took an opportunity to take a dig at state Democrats while addressing the state's 23-year high state unemployment figures at 7.1 percent.

Gov. Jim Gibbons: Governor's Office PhotoAlthough the approval rating of Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks) may be completely in the tank, some state political observers believe that the governor's poor standing with his constituency will not have as sizable impact on the presidential election this fall as others have thought.

According to figures presented by Rasmussen on Sept. 11, only 25 percent of Nevada voters believe the governor is doing a good job. The number came out a day before Gibbons was cleared of whispers of ethics violations which said the governor forced down property tax on land that he recently purchased from a former district judge.

An article by the Las Vegas Review Journal is citing a collection of polls as growing proof that the Nevada could be getting ready to go for Republican presidential nominee John McCain in November.

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