Door-to-door activism

Nevada's battleground status breeds grassroots campaigns

By Vince Keenan

Courtney Watson of Las Vegas isn't running for office, but she's in campaign mode.

Watson is talking up the environment, saying Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry cares much more about it than his Republican rival, President Bush. To help get her point across, the full-time Sierra Club staffer leads volunteers door-to-door for up to two hours at a time Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings in the Las Vegas area. Then on Tuesday and Thursday nights, she and her helpers unleash a torrent of calls via telephone banks from the environmental organization's local office.

But they're not the only paid and volunteer grassroots canvassers in town these days boosting the Democratic ticket. Like bees on honey, at least two other national political action groups also have descended on Nevada, one of 17 swing states that posted slim ballot margins in 2000's nip-and-tuck battle for the White House.

"Nevada is a very, very important state in this election," says Watson, a Sierra Club conservation organizer.

Staging activities primarily in Las Vegas and Reno, America Coming Together and the MoveOn Political Action Committee also are trying to lay groundwork that could tip the scales against Bush on Election Day, Nov. 2.

"We're knocking on doors, we're calling voters to follow up, we're doing site registrations for voter registration," said Terence Tolbert, state director of America Coming Together, which aims to register and mobilize voters in order to elect "progressive" candidates at the local, state and federal levels. The group recently demonstrated locally against Bush environmental policies, taking part in a protest Aug. 5 to coincide with Interior Secretary Gale Norton's visit to Las Vegas.

Like the Sierra Club, ACT is telling voters that the upcoming election could very well decide the fate of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository proposal. "Yucca Mountain is a huge issue here," Tolbert said.

He said before being elected president, Bush vowed to base his deliberations on "sound science"--and not politics--in making any decision on burying radioactive waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But the president reneged on his promise, Tolbert charged.

Paul Carman of Henderson, a volunteer for MoveOn PAC, also alleges Bush went back on his word regarding Yucca Mountain. Carman believes a Kerry victory would be the state's best shot at warding off the proposal. He said Kerry's record contrasts sharply with Bush's when it comes to the environment. "The importance of Yucca Mountain is it shows the true character of the two people running," Carman explained.

State Republican Party Executive Director Chris Carr said groups such as MoveOn are making Yucca Mountain out to be a Republican proposal. "They continue to use Yucca Mountain as a political football," Carr said. He said the fact is that state GOP lawmakers as well as the party's congressional delegation oppose the idea. "This is one issue we disagree with the president on," Carr said.

MoveOn says it sticks up for democracy at the grassroots level, particularly when elected officials' actions counter public opinion. In the latest of a string of publicity events, the group planned to deliver thousands of petitions last Monday to state GOP headquarters on West Sahara Avenue asking the party to "renew" its opposition to the Yucca Mountain project.

"Up to a year or two ago, state Republicans were against making a nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain. Frankly, I just think they rolled over," Carman said.

MoveOn also conducted a voter registration drive a few weeks ago, Carman said. And about a month ago, MoveOn publicized Bush critic Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11, before an audience of hundreds at UNLV, Carman added. He said he wants the group's message to permeate party lines.

"We'd like to target those people who voted for Bush but don't like what he's accomplished, or failed to accomplish, in the last four years," Carman said. "We can look at a lot of things. The war in Iraq, the downturn in the economy. We have talked to a lot of Republicans who are voting for Kerry this time."

Nevada Sierra Club members and supporters held a press conference Aug. 5 at the Culinary Workers Union Hall, headlined by Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, as well as state Assemblywoman Peggy Pierce, D-Las Vegas. The event was intended to kick off the Sierra Club's "Las Vegas Environmental Voter Education Campaign."

"In the next 88 days we need to talk to our family members and neighbors about voting," Pierce told the crowd of about 75. "This is a part of the effort that is going to determine the quality of life for years to come."

Pope, who flew in from San Francisco to speak at the event, stressed the importance of fighting voter apathy by firing up the individuals who usually sit out political elections. They're the ones who will determine the outcome of the election, not the swing voters, he said. "We need to reinforce these people's commitment," he said.

Republicans also have volunteer troops in action. "Right now we're doing voter I.D.," Carr explained, "and we're doing voter registrations--everything from door-to-door to phone banks, where we're calling high-growth areas asking people if they'd like to register to vote. Heavily populated areas. Traditional Republican areas."