UNLV rally to back immigrants
Titus, billionaire Steyer seekin, DACA action
California billionaire Tom Steyer, best known for bankrolling a campaign to impeach Donald Trump, will be in Nevada on Thursday to take on a new fight — protecting undocumented immigrants.
Steyer will be joined by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-nev., and immigrant activists in a rally at UNLV.
Steyer will call on U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., to protect recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that protected from deportation children who were brought into the country illegally.
Trump ended the program but gave Congress until March 4 to come up with a solution for 700,000 DACA recipients. About 13,000 of them live in Nevada.
The event begins at noon in UNLV’S Student Union, room 218, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.
Another candidate in AD 35
The race to succeed Assemblyman Justin Watkins, D-las Vegas, in District 35 is getting crowded.
Republican Tiffany Jones, who ran for the seat in 2016, announced this week she’s jumping in again to advance a business-friendly agenda.
“We have made tremendous strides in the last few years when it comes to job creation and that is great news, but there is still more work to be done,” Jones, owner of Las Vegas bakery Perdiot Sweets, said in a statement.
Jones is the second Republican to enter the 2018 race. David Schoen, a paralegal and Army veteran, announced his candidacy several months ago.
Two Democrats are running for the seat : Paul Numsuwan, a former Marine who was born in Thailand, and Michelle Gorelow, an executive at the nonprofit Foundation for Positively Kids.
Watkins, an attorney, served one term in the Assembly but announced in October he will not seek re-election.
Energy choice fight
After sitting on the sidelines in 2016, NV Energy — the state’s largest electric company — is fighting a measure that would open the state’s energy market to competitors.
The Energy Choice Initiative goes to voters a second time in November. Nearly 74 percent of voters approved it in 2016, but it requires two votes because it would amend the state constitution.
If passed, the initiative would allow residents to choose their power provider by 2023.
A group called Coalition to Defeat Question 3 will oppose the measure with NV Energy. The group includes former NV Energy and Harrah’s Entertainment chair Phil Satre, Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick and former Secretary of State Frankie Sue Del Papa.
Endorsements
The Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus said it will back Gorelow in her bid to succeed Watkins in Assembly District 35.
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Kate Marshall has thrown her support behind Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford, a Democrat running for attoney general.
Events
Gubernatorial candidate and Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt will open a Las Vegas-based campaign office on Saturday. The opening event, which runs from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include pizza and drinks. Laxalt’s office will be located at 7395 S. Pecos Road.
Veterans in Politics is hosting a Valentine’s Day Ball at the Plaza from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.
Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal. com or 702-380-4538. Follow @ Ramonagiwargis on Twitter.