Columnist Jeff German: Gibbons hit for misfiring in BLM attack in House speech

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

ANYONE WHO CHATS with Nevada Rep. Jim Gibbons can tell he loves his new job.

The freshman Republican is well aware of the sense of history that comes with being one of 435 members of the House.

At the same time, Gibbons is finding out what it's like to play in the big leagues in Washington in today's media-dominated society.

Gibbons got clobbered with his own words this week in a story on the well-read federal page of the Washington Post.

The story focused on remarks critical of the Bureau of Land Management that Gibbons made on floor of the House last month.

Gibbons has become one of the House's leading critics of the BLM, an agency familiar to most Nevadans.

In his speech, Gibbons charged that BLM agents were "turning into bullies with little respect for public safety or property."

The basis for his remarks was an incident in New Mexico three years ago in which early accounts indicated a picnicking family had been accosted by BLM agents.

The Post did some research and found that the family members weren't as innocent as Gibbons had made them out to be.

It turns out they were caught on BLM videotape breaking into the car and stealing goods. Some even spent time in jail for their misdeeds.

The Post chastised Gibbons for not checking out the three-year-old story before speaking on the floor.

Mike Dayton, the congressman's top Washington aide, says he believes the story was planted by BLM officials to embarrass Gibbons.

Dayton, however, acknowledges in hindsight that Gibbons probably could have cited a better example of alleged BLM abuse.

But Dayton adds his boss "still firmly believes that the BLM should not have police powers."

Gibbons, he says, is taking the Post hit in stride.

"You take the good with the bad," Dayton says. "Certainly I don't think this is going to in any way slow down his enthusiasm to change some laws that people in the West want."

Still, being the history buff that he is, Gibbons probably learned a valuable lesson on the Hill this week.

* Regent Shelley Berkley is indeed serious about running for Congress in 1998.

Berkley now has a recording on her home answering machine identifying herself as a congressional candidate.

She's been busy in recent weeks raising money for her campaign for the 1st Congressional District seat now held by Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev.

Ensign is said to be eyeing a bid against Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 1998.

But his entry into that race isn't a sure thing.

It would cause a deep split within the casino industry, one of the largest contributors to political campaigns here.

Ensign comes from a prominent gaming family, but Reid has gone to bat repeatedly for the industry in his two terms in the Senate. He has plenty of markers to call in.

Berkley, meanwhile, plans on running next year even if Ensign seeks re-election.

In case there's any doubt, the last four digits of her cellular phone number are 1998.

* Six months ago, it appeared that UNLV President Carol Harter was going to be out of a job this week.

Her sometimes callous management style had offended influential politicos, as well as professors.

Instead, in one of the more remarkable administrative turnarounds in Nevada history, a kinder, gentler Harter was awarded a three-year contract extension by the Board of Regents.

What turned the trick, according to her once biggest critic, Regent Maddy Graves?

"She's learned how to become a team player," Graves says.

Translated, that means Harter, after some attitude adjustment, learned how the political game is played in Nevada.

The smartest thing she did, however, was prove to her boss, Chancellor Richard Jarvis, that she had the mettle to take UNLV into the 21st century.

Graves credits the chancellor's glowing evaluation of Harter for turning him into a Harter supporter.

The challenge for Harter now is to continue to soften her approach and prove to her critics that she really is a different person.

If she does that, Harter and UNLV many be headed for a long-term relationship that will benefit the university and the community.