Miller on list for Mexico

Friday, Sept. 19, 1997 | 10:08 a.m.

A phone call from the White House has turned Gov. Bob Miller into a serious contender in the hunt for a new ambassador to Mexico.

"White House staff called our office to indicate the governor is officially under consideration as a potential designee for the appointment," Miller Press Secretary Richard Urey said today.

Urey said the call came from Washington on Thursday afternoon.

Miller, a Democrat who earlier this week expressed an interest in the key foreign relations post, was unavailable for comment today.

The governor doesn't have an appointment with Clinton next week when he travels to Washington to testify at a Senate hearing on prostate cancer.

When told of the White House phone call this morning, Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren, a Republican in line to succeed Miller, said: "Fantastic. It's what he wants, and I think he should have a chance to advance himself."

"A lot of people have expressed reservations and concerns about what I would do," Hammargren added. "I think I've made myself clear that I would try to implement Gov. Miller's policies and take care of things next year in as responsible a way as possible."

White House spokesman Eric Rubin said today the process of choosing a nominee will take awhile.

"We are going to be looking at a lot of candidates, and we're very much at the beginning of the process," Rubin said.

On Thursday, the Washington Post mentioned Houston Mayor Bob Lanier as another candidate.

Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the president isn't likely to forward a name to Congress until next year.

Some have speculated that if Miller becomes the nominee, his background check and Senate confirmation may not be completed until next summer or later.

That still could give Hammargren, who hasn't ruled out the possibility of running for governor next year, a chance to serve as acting governor for several months until Miller's term expires in January 1999.

Las Vegas businessman Kenny Guinn, who's running for governor next year as a Republican, said today he's not worried about the possibility that Miller might turn over the state to Hammargren.

"It doesn't adversely affect me in any way," Guinn said. "I'm just going to go about running the campaign that my staff and I are running."

Guinn's top political strategist, former White House aide Sig Rogich, added:

"It doesn't change anything that we're doing. We can't worry about what may or may not happen. We're just going to continue to campaign as hard as we ever have. We have a great team and we're organized throughout the state."

Miller told reporters this week that he had informed the president he's interested in going to Mexico.

He said he would feel "privileged and flattered" to be considered for the ambassador's post.

"I think it's a very important position for the United States, and I think it's obviously important to this region of the country and the state of Nevada. So if the president shows a favorable inclination, it's something certainly that I would be interested in."