Thursday, April 30, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.
Many here, though, may be intrigued for the underlying reason why he was fired by the Washoe County Commission on Tuesday. MacIntyre's offense: He was too nice. Even though he appeared ready for the coming task of cutting the county budget in the face of a revenue shortfall, MacIntyre didn't fit the commissioners' billing as a wild-eyed budget cutter.
"It's slash-and-cut time and we need a slasher and a cutter," Washoe County Commissioner Mike Mouliot told the Reno Gazette-Journal earlier this month. "We are running into hard times and we are going to need a confrontational style." It may be hard for Mouliot to grasp this concept, but it is possible to cut budgets and still work in a professional manner. Budget cutting doesn't inherently mean that you have to possess a slash-and-burn mentality.
Maybe MacIntyre no longer fit in an age where many people unfortunately believe that to be successful you need a brutish streak and Machiavellian wiles. Perhaps Leo Durocher was right, maybe nice guys finish last -- at least in Washoe County.
Washoe County has named an assistant manager to fill in as county manager on an interim basis. But as Washoe County commissioners conduct their search for a permanent replacement, we're sure there are a number of candidates working in local government in Southern Nevada that would suit them just fine.
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