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From the 11-9-1997 Daily Sparks Tribune  A couple of us are dead, but most are still around. For the past 15
years, we have lain low in every corner of Nevada. Like weed seeds standing
dormant until the weather is just right, we have watched and waited for the
call.An El Niņo-worthy wind now wafts across the barren landscape of the High Desert Outback of the American Dream. She whispers to all of us: fly, disseminate, re-sow the soil with seething apathy. The None of the Above for Governor Political Action Committee (NAGPAC) once again stands poised for action.In 1982, political junkies far and wide shook their heads at the
sameness of the choices for governor. Incumbent first-term Republican
Robert List was opposed by Democratic Attorney General Richard Bryan.
Voters expected a banquet and found two pieces of dry white toast on the
menu.So we dreamed up NAGPAC, the organization spawned by seething
apathy and committed to electing the whole horse for a change. Our slogan:
Apathy is never having to say you're sorry. We held a "What? Me Worry?"
press conference at the Depression Deli on W. Fourth Street in Reno. Free
food was served via soupline: white bread, water and anemic cream of
nothing broth.The turnout was surprising, the media coverage overwhelming. We
made NBC News and ESPN (which suggested None of the Above for baseball
commissioner). Alas and alack, a decade and a half down the road, not much
has changed in either baseball or follytix.Fast-forward 15 years. Millionaire business mogul Kenny Guinn has
been anointed by the gambling-industrial complex to replace Gov. Bob
Miller, the retiring anointee. The top three Democrats have all chickened
out of an eminently winnable race. It looks like time for NAGPACkers to
engage in another act of political futility and try to knock some horse
sense into this horse race.If I ever doubted that the ghosts of NAGPAC are calling, those
questions evaporated when I saw Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin tell Reno KOLO
TV-8's Sam Shad how he was planning to solve the city's homeless problem.
On the Oct. 4 edition of "Nevada Newsmakers," Griffin practically licked
his chops at the prospect of rousting homeless people from the riverfront
as soon as the city's land is given away to private corporations. He also
raised anew the specter of a homeless concentration camp where arrestees
have a choice of either going to the homeless shelter or to jail. Former
Reno police chief Richard Kirkland and ex-D.A. Dorothy Nash Holmes
presented the same idea to the Sparks City Council a few years ago.The mayor, who once referred to the homeless as "human debris,"
said "one of the interesting reasons I don't want open space on the river
is that I consider that an attractive nuisance for single men to hang
around downtown. When this (riverfront redevelopment and handover to
corporations) is done, that will be private property," Griffin said. "We
have a big issue constitutionally with public parks, but when it's private,
there is no issue. You can't be here, you can't hang around here, you can't
loiter."Griffin noted that as soon as three goals are accomplished with
now-Sheriff Kirkland's help, "and also talking to judges that when we put
this together, we want you to sentence these people to jail and they will
have the option of doing community service on Fourth St. or spending 23
hours a day in a jail cell on Parr Blvd." This takes us right back to the
Holmes/Kirkland concentration camp proposal.It is also the last sign I need to bring NAGPAC back. Griffin's
three goals for starting his concentration camp include establishment of a
homeless resource center, expanding the Nevada Mental Health Institute and
purchasing Flanigan's Warehouse on E. Fourth St. as a work projects center.Flanigan's is about two blocks from the site of the now defunct
Depression Deli down in the low rent district. The Nevada Mental Health
Institute became the site of NAGPAC's biggest battle and greatest success.Amid laughter and friendship at the Deli on that delicious
September day so long ago, I also raised some serious issues which
NAGPACkers thought needed addressing by candidates for the state's highest
office. The long list included nuclear waste dumping, lack of a clear
public records law and continuing patient care problems at the Sparks
mental health institute. All of the above plague us today.Always-deficient mental health care got badly cut when Gov. Miller
needed easy ways to slice the budget earlier this decade. Sen. Randolph
Townsend (R-Reno), facilitated a substantial budget increase this year, but
the catalyst was not humanitarian compassion. The gambling-industrial
complex needed a flesh warehouse as noted by Griffin to Shad.In 1982, I was informed that the imposingly-named but toothless
(and industry-funded) Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals was
coming to town to review the mental hospital. I had to threaten a lawsuit
to even get an appointment with a guy named Frank Mims. I warned him of
patient dangers, especially in bathing areas where several deaths had
occurred over the years.Mims ignored me but was forced to come back to town three days
later when a patient drowned under circumstances I had described.So, welcome to 1982 deja vu. El Niņo's coming back and so is
NAGPAC. The candidates for governor number only two thus far, Republicans
Guinn and a recent Hollywood transplant named Aaron Russo. Running on his
looks and bank account, Mr. Guinn seems comfortable giving only name, rank
and serial number. I guess Russo's in because Nevada candidacy looks cheap
for rich guys compared to California.NAGPAC served an important function in 1982 getting candidates to
respond to serious issues. Gov. List and Libertarian Dan Becan took it all
in good humor and responded with serious answers. The eventual winner,
now-U..S. Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.), ignored us. I don't think he's
forgiven me to this very day.Ridicule can produce response when all else fails. And maybe
another candidate or two for good measure.NAGPACkers, this is a message from your chairman: time to nag the
horses into the race again. Let's ride.Be well. Raise hell.
Andrew
Barbano, a Reno-based syndicated columnist and 29-year Nevadan, is
editor of U-News. Send an E-mail
if you want to join the inaction with NAGPAC '98.Barbwire by Barbano
has originated in the Daily Sparks
Tribune since 1988. |
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 1998 Barbwires |
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