GOP nominees for treasurer have little respect for each other

Thursday, Aug. 27, 1998 | 11:09 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Ken Santor and Brian Krolicki are political opponents who have little respect for each other.

The two square off in the Republican primary election Sept. 1 for state treasurer with the winner almost assured a victory in the general election. There is no Democrat in the race, which includes two candidates from splinter parties.

Krolicki, 37, a graduate of Stanford University, worked in the financial industry before becoming chief deputy under treasurer Bob Seale nearly eight years ago. This is his first try at political office.

Santor, 67, is a former contractor who says he's from the "school of hard knocks." He served one term as treasurer from 1986 to 1990, when he was defeated by Seale. Santor has unsuccessfully run for governor, Reno mayor and Reno councilman and now is labeled a "perennial candidate."

One thing is sure this election -- the winner will be from Northern Nevada, as no one filed from Clark County.

Santor says Krolicki, who lives in Douglas County, is "still green behind the ears. He is still a newcomer. I've been here for 27 years. I've gone through the hard times. I never lost a penny."

He suggests it's a "conflict of interest" for Krolicki to hold on to his state job and run for political office. "This guy is running on state time, and I'm paying him to run against me through my taxes. It doesn't make sense."

He calls Krolicki "a pawn of Seale's" and says the office is operating on the foundation he built in his four years in office.

Krolicki says Santor's four years in office "was embattled and not always successful. There was precious little that Santor left to build upon." There was a "crisis of confidence" in the treasurer's office during the Santor days, Krolicki says in reference to the harsh criticism by Democrats of Santor.

Krolicki has not used state travel pay and time to campaign, he said. In all but two trips to Las Vegas this year, he has paid out of his own pocket. He has a car in Las Vegas and doesn't use the state motor pool vehicles. And he says he takes leave time when he attends any political gatherings.

Regarding travel, Krolicki says Santor used $1,800 in state funds to take a trip to Israel, questioning how that related to state business. Also, he says Santor never resigned when he sought re-election in 1990.

Krolicki says he's willing to match his qualifications for office against Santor. And he says the office has been modernized under the Seale administration.

Santor wants the state to mint a $20 silver coin as legal tender. It will stop money from going outside the state, he said. Krolicki calls the idea "absurd." He says it's against the U.S. Constitution and would prompt a fight between the state and federal governments. In addition, he said the financial experts who rate Nevada's bond "find this extremely troubling."

Santor's "burned up" that 83 percent of the money in the state's main checking account is going out of state. "When I was in office, I brought all the money back" to Nevada banks. The checks now are out of the Bank of America in North Carolina, he says. In addition, he says the bond advisers to the office are from outside Nevada.

Krolicki counters, saying there was no cash-management program while Santor was in office. "We have $27 billion flowing through the office, and Santor was unable to establish a cash-management program," he said. "This administration established one with fewer people and less cost to the general fund. And it resulted in more money for the state."

One thing that "disgusts me," Santor says is "they got rid of my staff so Krolicki could get a big raise. He makes more than the treasurer." Krolicki refers to the change when Seale took over. Krolicki now earns $72,000. The pay of the treasurer is $62,500 and it jumps to $80,000 in January.

Krolicki says the staff, inherited from Santor, had "tremendous potential" but had to be retrained to put the office on a modern operating basis.

"We've made a dramatic difference in the financial management of the state," he says.

The treasurer's office processes 70,000 to 80,000 checks per month and invests the state's money to gain the highest rate of return.

One of Krolicki's goals is to continue to reduce the paper flow and "eliminate the opportunities for fraud." And he wants to continue the fledgling college savings plan to allow money to be set aside for children to attend higher education schools.

The winner of the Krolicki-Santor primary will face Daniel Fylstra of the Libertarian Party and Merritt "Ike" Yochum of the Independent American Party in the general election.

Fylstra, president of a software company in Incline Village, is making his first attempt for office. Yochum of Carson City has run for several different offices in the past.