Column: Sometimes a partisan vote is overriding consideration

"All politics are based on the indifference of the majority."

James Reston

We voters like to think of ourselves as independent even when we're members of political parties. None of us like to feel obligated to "tow the party line," so to speak. And we don't want others to think of us as weak or brass-collared.

However, like it or not, there are sometimes compelling reasons why we must vote along partisan lines even when it means dumping a candidate or incumbent whom we are inclined to vote for.

If you're a Republican or a conservative independent, you now have one of those partisan situations in the District 40 race for the Nevada State Assembly. The incumbent, Democrat Bonnie Parnell, was a freshman legislator in the last session and she did a good job for the most part. But she's a teacher and a staunch member of the teacher's union.

Her opponent, Republican Jeanne Simon, is a newcomer to politics but is equally qualified to be an effective legislator. Both women are intelligent and much involved in public education.

But! We have a major snag which is strictly political to say the least. If the Democrats once again win control of the Assembly as they have for the past 25 out of 26 years, we're again going to get Wendell Williams from North Las Vegas shoved down our throats as the chairman of the Assembly Education Committee.

Williams is committed to no changes whatsoever which will help solve public education's many problems in the areas of high school dropouts, alternative education for non-college bound students, charter schools, competence testing for teachers or academic competition between schools.

Williams is an arrogant ex-teacher with socialist leanings, and he's owned lock, stock and barrel by the teacher's union, which is his biggest financial contributor. On the other hand, Republicans in the Assembly and the Senate are committed to substantive changes and improvements in the public education system, but Republicans must be the majority party in the Assembly before they can elect a Republican committee chairman and implement those badly needed changes.

Right about now you're probably asking, "Why can't Democrats improve public education as well as Republicans?" They could have, but they didn't. And being in control for the past 25 years they've had plenty of chances. Most of what's negative today in Nevada public education has occurred under Democrat control of the education committee. That is an undeniable fact.

The teachers' union is the main reason no genuine reforms have been adopted because the union wants the status quo and has taken great financial care of the Democrats on the Assembly Education Committee to assure their re-elections, and no meaningful reforms were adopted.

So, the problem with re-electing Bonnie Parnell is twofold: 1) A vote for a Democrat in District 40 makes it almost impossible to get a Republican majority in the Assembly because of the Democrat majority being elected from Clark County, and 2) Bonnie Parnell can never be the chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee as long as Wendell Williams gets re-elected from North Las Vegas. Wendell is younger than Bonnie and he has many years of seniority. In other words, as long as Bonnie remains a Democrat, she can never be in a leadership position to reform public education, even if she wanted to.

But, "Bonnie is an independent thinker," you say, because she broke with the teachers' union over the business tax initiative. Don't kid yourself. Both Bonnie and the union know that her re-election is in jeopardy in District 40 if she supports a business tax. The union will let her off the hook because the union wants her re-elected far more than they need her support on the business tax.

Now you can see why partisan politics is sometimes so important. I can assure you that most of your Nevada tax dollars go for public education, so you'd better wake up. National public education is in shambles and Nevada is well on that track if we don't make some serious structural changes. Again, Senate and Assembly Republicans are committed to reforms.

What do I know about Jeanne Simon, Bonnie's opponent? Not a whole lot other than she's very bright and she's a solid citizen, with kids, and is vitally concerned with education. And because of her extensive experience running a successful business with her husband, she has a good grasp of the whole Nevada picture, not just education. There's no doubt she will make an excellent assemblywoman if we give her the chance.

Bob Thomas is a Carson City businessman, local curmudgeon and former member of the Carson City School Board and Nevada State Assembly.