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THE NAME INTERVIEW “I think Governor Sandoval has done an outstanding job and he’s led us through a very critical time in the state of Nevada and we’re coming out on the other side.” Going into the session, what did you anticipate would be the biggest challenge of your new job? Given the financial crisis we’re in, it was the budget. We needed something that was sound and reasonable and that’s how we approached it. In the Legislature, I was on the Ways and Means Committee, which looks at the nuts and bolts of the budget, for two sessions. That was my area of expertise. So I expected to work a great deal on the budget, and I did. Did that turn out to be the biggest challenge? Yes, especially with the Supreme Court decision that came down in late May. We had to review some priorities and some cuts and some reallocations. In our budget, there was continuation of numerous reallocations from prior-years’ budgets. So property taxes, room taxes, pieces like that we believed we could no longer use given the Supreme Court’s decision on the Clean Water Coalition case. So we had to revamp the budget in the last six days. We knew there was a statutory limitation of 120 days for the session and we wanted to do our best to live up to that. You’ve now dealt with the legislative process from the legislative side and the executive side. What are some of the big differences? When you’re in the Legislature, you spend a great deal of time looking at the fine points of the budget, down to a coffee machine. When you’re in the governor’s office, you have a higher-level view of the vision of the administration and of priorities such as education and economic development. You’re looking at the direction of the entire state government as opposed to the small pieces that make up the budget. You’re also looking at policy. So you get to sit back and have a bigger perspective on it than if you’re in the trenches and in the hearings during those 120 days. 26 Have you changed your view on any aspect of government as a result of the most recent session? I have a better understanding of state agencies than I had before. When you’re in the Legislature, you’re assigned to committees. I had some understanding about the budget because I was on Ways and Means and Commerce and Labor, so I dealt with policy-type bills and elections bills. Now, I understand a greater amount of what the agencies do. I have a lot of respect for them. Except for his family, you probably know Governor Sandoval best. What do you think makes him tick? The governor’s a very compassionate man. He’s a person with strong integrity, very honest, always looking out for people. He’s always been in public service, even when we were back in high school. This probably sounds funny to some people, but we’ve known each other since we were about 12 to 14 years old. We went to different elementary schools, but we knew each other back then. He’s someone you can always count on, he cares about people and tries to make decisions based on facts. He’s very judicial, so when we’d get policy bills brought to the office, he took time to contemplate the pros and the cons and how a certain policy would operate. He’s very thoughtful in his actions. Tell me his one-word re-election campaign slogan? I’m not sure I could come up with something in one word. I think he’s done an outstanding job and he’s led us through a very critical time in the state of Nevada and we’re coming out on the other side. It looks like the economic indicators are positive so I’m very proud of his work. He’s just done an amazing job in difficult times. Is Governor Sandoval Hispanic? That’s an interesting question. Of course he is. That’s his heritage. What’s the biggest challenge facing the state? I think the biggest challenge now is growing and diversifying our economy. We’ve spent a lot of time doing that. I mentioned AB449. It moves the Office of Economic Development to the Office of the Governor, and I’m meeting weekly with that department in the transition to help understand the operations and how we can improve them. The governor has his own economic development engine. Whenever he comes back from meetings and events where he speaks, he brings back cards from people he wants me to call, people who are interested in Nevada. We want to make sure this office is very accessible to people who grow their businesses here. He’s made himself personally involved. It’s all very positive. How big a role will you play in the revamped Economic Development Office during the next couple of months? I’m definitely helping during the transition period. We’re redefining the board. The board right now has members who are all appointed by the governor, but the new board will have some elected officials. It will have the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, three members from the private sector appointed by the governor and one each appointed by the majority leader and the speaker, and a rotating one from the minority leader. There’s also someone from the (Nevada System of Higher Education) as well as from the (Department of Training, Employment and Rehabilitation). The governor really wanted private sector involvement. Isn’t the new system multi–tiered? There’s a council made up of elected officials that will serve as ambassadors, always talking about Nevada and supporting Nevada businesses. And a more operational board will look at organizations that want to come here and at the catalyst fund and if organizations should get catalyst fund money. The | 18 JULY 2011 |