(“Average American”) – The state of Nevada has not had the best luck with politicians of late.
Our Governor has issues within the Governor's Mansion, our Junior Senator has ethics questions swirling around him about possible hush money paid to the husband of the woman with whom he carried on an affair.
We watched in dismay as a judge was investigated regarding her treatment of her staff and we are “blessed” with the incompetency of Harry Reid, our Senior Senator and current Senate Majority Leader.
Seems we can't catch a break sometimes.
Entering the fray are the hopefuls for the “People's Seat” (thank you Scott Brown) currently occupied by Harry Reid. Among those running to be the GOP candidate are Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian, undoubtedly the two front runners at this stage of the game. Both are long time Nevada residents and both have long histories of service within the GOP, Sue Lowden as the former Chair of the State party and a state Senator and Mr. Tarkanian as a recruiter and three time runner up in local elections. Both have held various other jobs in the private sector and both are familiar with Nevada from end to end.
But where they diverge is far more telling about each than what they share in common. Clouds are forming over the Tarkanian camp as we speak. Both the Review Journal and the Las Vegas Sun recently covered an emerging story about a land and loan deal that seems from a distance to be the same old story of bank fraud combined with poor management of a business. Only this time one of the principals of the business is running for the US Senate. Not the exemplar business acumen that you want to see from a person who hopes to gain control of 1/100th of a Federal Budget already deeply in the red.
Let's get ready to lawyer up. The stories from both papers read essentially the same. Vegas Diamond, owned by Danny Tarkanian and family, along with a partner, Johnson Investment LLC, borrowed millions putting up a property on south Las Vegas Boulevard at Barbara Street, near the St. Rose Parkway as collateral. Vegas Diamonds and partners then loaned $12.5 million to Robert Dyson's group, Songbird, for development of a property in Riverside California called Anza. Dyson had offered up Anza as collateral to Vegas Diamond for his part of the loan within a loan. The problem seems to come down to whether the bank, La Jolla Bank based in Southern California informed the Las Vegas companies of issues Dyson was having with getting Anza built or that he was leveraging the $15 million property to the tune of $32.5 million?
The RJ ran this quote, “He defaulted within one month, took the money and then disappeared,” Tarkanian said of Dyson.” While the legal eagles will run this out long and hard to find who is really at fault, Dyson, La Jolla Bank or both, it creates other questions that need to be asked about the candidate. Did Vegas Diamond conduct any due diligence into Dyson or Anza prior to making the loans? What was Danny Tarkanian's role in the whole convoluted affair? He is a principal in Vegas Diamond after all.
Another issue I am having with all this is the cavalier attitude on the part of Danny Tarkanian himself regarding the potential loss of millions of dollars. Many of you know from reading my posts here and elsewhere that I am a high risk high return proponent. I am also a big believer in passion for life, politics and family. “This was some savings I had, my family had that was going to be really nice in a retirement stage,” reported the RJ. “If we lose it we end up losing it. That is part of our risk when we invest”, the RJ again. The Las Vegas Sun had this quote in their story, “”It’s something happening quite a bit in this environment,” Danny Tarkanian said Friday. “Unfortunately we’re caught in the middle of it.””
Does that represent the thinking of the average American or Nevadan? “Hey, if we lose it, we lose it” and “let’s put the blame on the day and age in which we live”? We Nevadans are a hearty bunch, fully representative of America as a whole. We work hard, we play hard and we dream big. In recent years we have also become a demanding bunch who have grown tired of poor representation in Washington and the cavalier attitudes of the Nancy Pelosis and Harry Reids Americans have placed in office. What we need today is solid leadership, strong business senses and representatives with solid track records of success from hard work and stick-to-it-ness.
On primary Tuesday, slated for June 8, 2010 do we want to put on the November ballot, two people, both with questionable land deals in their past? Reid's land deal (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/11/AR2006101101640.html
has brought up many questions in the past.
Do we really want to choose between the lessor of two evils or are we ready to have a choice between, as Publius wrote in the Federalist Papers, which one represents “the greater good”?
Irony too has raised it's head surrounding this story. A seminar dealing with foreclosures is slated for this Saturday at a Middle School with a familiar name. “The seminar will take place on Saturday, January 30, 2010. The information is free, however seating is limited to the first 60 people. Seating begins at 2:45 p.m. and the program will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The seminar will be held at the Tarkanian Middle School in the auditorium. The school is located at 5800 W. Pyle Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89141.
Another good question is will Danny Tarkanian attend since the event is at the school that bears his family name? And if so, well he be taking notes considering his current situation?
Time will tell…
But what would I know; I'm just an Average American.
(“Average American” is a blogger who originally posted this commentary on HubPages.com)
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