Editor's Note: Sometimes the voters get it right

In Richard Ford's novel Independence Day, a real estate agent shows a great house to a couple but their enthusiasm sours when they learn that a prison sits just beyond the back yard. The agent emphasizes the country club atmosphere of the minimum-security facility, noting that it's home to "people we all voted for and will again."

The comment suggests that voters have either short memories or a strong forgiving spirit. But it also has a cynical tone, suggesting that voters are easily fooled into electing buffoons and criminals to represent them.

All of which seems true to an extent. In Nevada, it seems that every election we are confronted by decisions about whether to re-elect ethics-challenged incumbents, and we often have to study carefully to make sure we don't cast a ballot for some trickster who happens to have the same name (or close to it) as the legitimate candidate.

On a positive note, sometimes the people are paying attention. Last week's primary election showed that it's possible for politicians to be held accountable for their actions.

The most obvious case was the trouncing of Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey in her bid for re-election while under indictment on a charge of taking a bribe from a strip club owner. Kincaid-Chauncey came in third in the Democratic primary behind Tom Collins and John Bonaventura.

It's clear that the high-profile indictment cost Kincaid-Chauncey, a longtime elected official. Voters in her district obviously were paying attention to news reports about the G-Sting scandal and lost faith in Kincaid-Chauncey, who, prior to the nefarious revelations, had maintained a public image as a nice grandmotherly type.

Kincaid-Chauncey filed for re-election for several reasons, not the least of which was to make sure she maintained the appearance of innocence as she prepares her defense against the political corruption charges. But she also thought she could overcome the allegations and benefit from strong name recognition to garner another commission term. District B voters, however, weren't fooled.

Voter savvy also was displayed in Assembly District 6, where veteran Assemblyman Wendell Williams lost to challenger Harvey Munford in their Democratic primary battle. Williams has been dogged by ethical questions for, among other things, taking city pay while working as a legislator and for his influence in getting a friend hired by the community college, then having her work as his personal assistant at the Legislature. Williams has contended that it's all a tempest in a teapot, but voters disagreed, sending him packing from the Assembly seat he's held for 17 years. It's clear that District 6 voters who had long supported Williams were fed up with his crap.

Voters also didn't fall for the game-playing in state Senate District 1, the race dubbed "Shaffer vs. Shaffer vs. Schaefer." The incumbent is Republican Ray Shaffer, who isn't real popular right now because he switched parties a few years ago and was basking in Hawaiian breezes during the most important vote of the contentious 2003 legislative session. In a blatant attempt to give her husband an advantage, Shaffer's wife, Sharon, ran for the seat in the Democratic primary. She didn't campaign, but figured her familiar name would draw votes and hamper the campaigns of other Democrats. But her ploy was complicated by Mike Schaefer, a perennial candidate who often does the same thing--filing against someone with the same name or close to it and hoping he'll get elected by mistake. District 1 voters saw through all the smoke screens and made John Lee the Democratic nominee against Ray Shaffer in November.

The primary voters weren't perfect. They fell for a ruse in a Justice Court race. In Department 9, Joe Bonaventure, the same-named son of the well-known Binion murder trial judge, received 44 percent of the votes in the primary, despite having just two years of legal experience. The 28-year-old Bonaventure insists that voters chose him because he's "really qualified" to stand in judgment on important court matters, but common sense suggests that his brand name carried the day. Perhaps the general election will be different as he takes on Bernie Zadrowski for the seat.

The November election should be less confusing. The candidates will be a little more familiar and there will be fewer of them: just one Democrat and one Republican in each race, plus a smattering of third-party candidates.

My greatest worry, though, is the presidential race. Polls show that President Bush could have his way with a goat on the White House lawn and most conservatives still would vote for him. Reams of information on Bush's mistakes and inadequacies are readily available, but his supporters apparently just don't want to hear it. So, Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Wendell Williams and the Shaffer/Schaefer duet are held accountable for their actions, but Bush isn't.

--GEOFF SCHUMACHER