Mixed reaction to Reid’s speech to Legislature
By Guy Clifton, Reno Gazette-Journal
None of Washoe County’s legislative delegation considered U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s call to end legalized prostitution in Nevada much of a priority, in a session where the budget shortfall dominates all other topics.
But they did find other parts of Reid’s address to a joint session of the Legislature on Tuesday more agreeable.
Harry Reid
“Maybe someone who was listening will introduce a bill (to outlaw legalized prostitution). I don’t know,” said Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno. “But we have so many challenges that we’re working on every day in an effort to get this state back on track economically through job creation and education reform and getting the budget balanced. Those are really the priorities of this session.”
What most Washoe County legislators did like was Reid’s call to reform education, properly fund it and to focus on making the state the renewable energy capital of the nation.
“He makes the point that it’s hard to diversify the economy and attract new businesses to the state when you are in a cutting mode with education,” said Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks.
Reid, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader and a former state assemblyman, said the state cannot keep asking for cuts in education.