Shelley Berkley for Congress

(March 4, 2010) Since U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley went out of her way to file for a seventh term in Congress on the very first day, we thought we'd get this out of the way right now: CityLife endorses Berkley for re-election.

While typically we wait to see an entire field of candidates before offering our support, we need look no further in Berkley's case. It's not an exaggeration to call Berkley the hardest-working woman in politics. Her grueling schedule would prompt lesser souls to spend a least one weekend or two resting inWashington, but Berkley is seemingly inexhaustible and omnipresent.

Her legislative record was sufficiently impressive for her to earn a seat on the powerful Ways & Means Committee, a major plus for Southern Nevada. (Even more impressive is she got the post despite having twice supported Maryland's Steny Hoyer for minority leader and for speaker over eventual victor, Nancy Pelosi. Berkley both stands by her principles and knows how to work together once the votes are counted.)

In Congress, she's been a fierce advocate for Las Vegas and Nevada, especially for veterans. Her support for a new veteran's hospital in Southern Nevada was essential for the project's success, and it will benefit thousands of military retirees to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude. Berkley understands this well. And her opposition to Yucca Mountain helped stall the project long enough for a sympathetic president to kill it.

We don't agree with Berkley on every issue -- her support of the war in Iraq, for example -- but on those issues where we disagree, we still respect her viewpoint. Las Vegans, and Nevadans, are fortunate to have such a hard-working and dedicated representative in Congress, and we urge all of them to sendBerkley back for another term. Their interests could scarcely be in better hands.