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By Sean Whaley | Nevada News Bureau
CRITICAL: The Ross-Hammond Senate race is among five contests that could yank control of the state Senate from the Democrats.
CARSON CITY — Democratic state Senate candidate Kelli Ross said she is the “union” candidate in the District 18 race in Las Vegas, while Republican Scott Hammond said he will listen to but not vote in lockstep with labor in the Legislature.
The two candidates in the newly created Senate seat in northwest Las Vegas debated on Jon Ralston’s Face to Face television program Monday.
Currently, the Democrats control the Nevada Senate with a slim 11-10 majority, making the five Senate races this election cycle critical.
During the debate, Hammond, currently a member of the Assembly, said he would seek to reform Nevada’s prevailing wage law so public construction projects could be built more cost effectively and generate more jobs. Paying less would stretch public construction dollars further, he said.
“I think we need to reform that, look at putting it back on to something that is the standard market, and I think we’re going to see significant savings there,” Hammond said.
Ross said she would oppose any move to reduce the prevailing wage, a wage set for construction workers hired for state and local government projects. The prevailing wage guarantees a qualified workforce, she said.
“Not only would it not save money it would even hurt the middle class that much more,” Ross said. “When you’re paying a prevailing wage you’re guaranteeing that you’re going to get a job done, get a job done on time and get the job done right.”
Read the complete story at Nevada News Bureau.
