Former assemblywoman plans to reclaim seat

Democrat Marcia de Braga of Fallon said Friday she will run to reclaim her Assembly seat from Pete Goicoechea.

She represented the district, which includes parts of Churchill, Lander, Humboldt, Washoe and White Pine counties, from 1993 until 2002 when Goicoechea, a Republican, won it.

She said she is running again because of her dissatisfaction with the handling of issues including education, health care and economic development in rural counties.

"This rural district, with its unique needs and problems, needs a representative who will work with other legislators to find solutions," she said.

She also made reference to Goicoechea's anti-tax stance during the 2003 Legislature.

"I think being a legislator involves more than just saying 'no' to ideas you don't like," she said. "It takes hard work and leadership. It takes the intestinal fortitude to make hard decisions and the willingness to research and understand the issues that are important to the people you represent."

During her tenure as an Assemblywoman, she headed the legislative push to get the state health division to investigate the cause of leukemia cases in Fallon, worked with Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, to establish annual land-use summits for rural residents and was credited for her efforts in bringing groups together to resolve outstanding water rights lawsuits.

She said she has been traveling the district talking to people and finds they are very worried about the future - including the rising cost of health care and the quality of their children's education. She said many rural Nevadans are also worried about their jobs.

"Certainly, there are no simple solutions to any of these problems but I strongly believe there are things we can be doing to make things better," she said.

Goicoechea has not announced his plans yet but is expected to run for the seat again.

De Braga is the second Democratic former Assemblywoman to challenge a member of the 2003 Republican tax holdouts.

Former Carson City Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell announced last week she would run to reclaim her District 40 seat from Ron Knecht, the Republican who was elected two years ago after she declined to seek a third term.

Contact Geoff Dornan at nevadaappeal@sbcglobal.net or at 687-8750.