Grady represents Assembly 38 well

In the contest for Assembly District 38, a broad district that includes Lyon and Story counties as well as stretching into Carson City and Churchill County, we're picking incumbent Republican Tom Grady for his experience and long service.

Most of all, though, we're recommending Grady because he's a good fit for the district.

A retired banker, he was mayor of Yerington for 12 years and executive director of the Nevada League of Cities for most of a decade. That background helped get him elected to his first Assembly term in 2003 and helped him be an effective legislator for District 38.

His conservative stance on fiscal matters - he was among the Republican holdouts against record tax increase - and most other decisions is representative of the mostly rural, mostly conservative area.

His Democratic opponent, Cathlyee James, a member of the Storey County school board, is bright and personable. We would have a hard time finding anything negative to say about her. At this point, however, she simply doesn't match Grady on the scope and depth of issues.

James has pushed Grady on one front, saying legislators are elected to solve problems and not simply vote against them - a reference to the Republican budget holdouts. Grady, though he continued to vote no, was not among the more contentious in the Assembly.

For 2005, Grady is running on the Republican Assembly candidates' Contract with Nevada, which includes a cap on government spending, a cap on property tax increases and no additional taxes. He is correct when he says a focus needs to remain on Nevada water issues, particularly to resolve conflicts in its overappropriated basins.

District 38 has a recognizable voice in the Assembly in Grady, and voters should keep him there.