DCCC - Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Dina Titus has dedicated her entire professional life to education and public service. She has taught American and Nevada government at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for 30 years. She has represented the people of Senate District 7 in the Nevada Legislature since 1988, serving as the Democratic Minority Leader from 1993 – May 2008.

Dina has also sought to protect Nevada’s most vulnerable citizens – children, seniors, and the disabled. She sponsored legislation creating Nevada’s Check Up Program to cover uninsured children. She cosponsored a successful bill allowing seniors and other Nevadans to purchase less expensive prescription drugs from Canada, pushed successful legislation mandating enhanced penalties for criminals who commit identity theft, and won passage of legislation doubling penalties for offenders who commit crimes against disabled persons.

A strong advocate for education at all levels, Dina has fought to maintain smaller class size in the important early grades and sponsored legislation for full-day kindergarten.

To protect Nevada families against rising property taxes with the potential to tax them out of their homes, Dina proposed a freeze on property tax valuations that led to the Nevada Legislature’s capping increases at 3%, a move praised by both sides of the aisle. She has also been a leading advocate of “smart growth,” proposing a “ring around the valley” in Southern Nevada to better manage sprawl. She was successful with legislation to protect environmentally sensitive Red Rock Canyon, our greatest natural treasure located here in District 3, from encroaching development and to require developers to complete neighborhood impact studies before receiving approval for major projects.

Developing renewable energy resources has been one of Dina’s priorities in the legislature.  She has successfully pushed legislation to establish a renewable portfolio standard requiring utility companies to acquire a certain percentage of green power. She championed creating a net metering program to allow individuals to generate their own power and sell the excess back to the utility companies, as well as green pricing options for consumers and tax incentives for companies that develop solar and wind energy generation.  Dina also sponsored successful legislation to create an inventory and registry of companies in Nevada that emit greenhouse gases in preparation for a “cap and trade” program to reduce emissions and help offset effects of climate change.

One of the proudest moments of Dina’s career came in 2006 with the dedication of the Dina Titus Estates, an innovative affordable housing complex for persons with disabilities, in recognition of Dina’s tireless advocacy.

Dina also led efforts to crack down on sexual predators with legislation increasing penalties for sex offenders, requiring lifetime supervision of their conduct, and establishing a state website that allows concerned citizens to identify locations in their neighborhoods where paroled sex offenders reside. Her successful 2007 bill prohibits registered sex offenders from living near schools, parks, and other places where children congregate.

Advocate in the making

Dina grew up in the small community of Tifton, Georgia, where her Greek grandfather ran a restaurant.  There was no Greek school or church, however, and the family had to drive 125 miles away to Jacksonville, Florida, to get feta and olives.

Dina learned from a close-knit family the value of community involvement and was introduced to politics at an early age.  On the Titus side, her uncle served in the Georgia Legislature as a Republican and her father ran for a seat on the Tifton City Council.  He went on to serve as the Head of the Building and Safety Departments for both Tifton and Henderson, NV. Additionally, the “coffee table” in her Papu’s downtown restaurant was always occupied by local politicos arguing about current issues.

Dina’s high school years included cheerleading and tap dancing, in addition to her studies.  A dedicated student, Dina attended a summer program at the historic College of William and Mary and did so well that she was admitted full time for the fall - without a high school diploma.  Attending school in the heartland of American democracy during the height of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War inspired Dina to study Political Science and engage others in the critical issues of a changing world.

After earning her Bachelor’s degree from William and Mary, Dina went on to earn a Master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a Doctorate from Florida State University.

She taught for a year at North Texas State University in Denton and then moved to Nevada to accept a faculty position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Over the past 30 years, a virtual who’s-who in government, public service, and legal circles has studied with Professor Titus, whose classes consistently rank among the most popular offerings on the campus.

In 1987, Dina decided to put theory into practice and run for elected office.  Her 20 years in the State Senate have brought the richness of first-hand experience to her classroom.

Dina also created and continues to coordinate the Legislative Internship Program at UNLV, which each session affords the opportunity for a group of students to work at the Legislature in Carson City.

Adventures around the globe

Dina has been married to Professor Thomas C. Wright for over 28 years.  Wright’s studies in his field of expertise - Latin American History - have taken the couple on extended journeys to Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Spain.  Tom received the prestigious UNLV Distinguished Professor award in 2008. John Wright Hall on campus is named for his father, a Civil War historian and early pioneer at UNLV.

Dina and Tom share a love of travel, global culture and folklore – and include among their favorite destinations Spain and France.  She has visited Taiwan and Siberia as a legislative liaison.  

And as a scholar and legislator, Dina has particularly enjoyed visits to Greece – the birthplace of democracy as well as the source of her personal lineage as a Greek-American.  Her grandfather, Arthur Costandinos Cathones, after whom she is named, came to America in 1911, landing at Ellis Island.  Dina honored the life and memory of her grandfather by purchasing a brick with his name on it at the restored Ellis Island. 

Fully embracing her Hellenic heritage, she has visited Athens, Meteora, Delphi, and many of the beautiful islands, gaining a deeper understanding of the country’s regions, ruins, museums, and cuisine.  As a proud Greek, Dina has spoken out in favor of Hellenism in the classroom and in the Nevada legislature where she has sponsored resolutions honoring the consecration of the new Greek church in Las Vegas and recognizing that Macedonia is Greek.  She is committed to reunifying Cyprus, protecting the ecumenical patriarchate in Constantinople and maintaining the Greek sanctity of the name and symbols of Macedonia.  Dina attends the St. John the Baptist Church in Las Vegas and keeps in close touch with her fellow members of the Greek community.

Dina’s travels have not only brought unforgettable personal experiences, but have also informed her research and teaching with the perspective of numerous cultural viewpoints and political systems.

Atomic Dina

A noted non-fiction writer, Dina is the author of Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics (University of Nevada Press, Revised Edition 2001) and Battle Born: Federal-State Relations in Nevada During the Twentieth Century (Kendall-Hunt, 1989). She has also published numerous scholarly articles on American, Nevada, and atomic politics.

Dina is internationally known for her expertise in the history and policies related to nuclear power, weaponry, and waste – as well as her knowledge of the popular lore of “Atomic culture.” This unique area of study extends to a wide-ranging personal collection of atomic memorabilia.  She appeared in the 2006 PBS documentary, The American Experience: Las Vegas – an Unconventional History by acclaimed director Steven Ives, and is a favorite source on all things nuclear for the media. She was honored to give a guest lecture to the Los Alamos Historical Society and present an academic paper at the International War and Peace Conference at Sokendai University in Tokyo.

Today, the Atomic Testing Museum on the Las Vegas campus of the Desert Research Institute features the Dina Titus Reading Room in recognition of her scholarly achievement in the field.