Valentine facing a different marathon

Denise Cardinal

Friday, June 26, 1998 | 11:16 a.m.

Whether it's running a marathon or taking the helm of one of the nation's fastest growing cities, it's all mental for Virginia Valentine.

As the 41-year-old reveals the blisters on her arms while describing the San Diego Marathon she ran a couple of weeks ago, she might as well be talking about her new job as Las Vegas city manager instead of the 26-mile race.

"Once you know you can do it, it's just a matter of pacing yourself," she said.

Her newest physical challenge is training for a triathalon. Though she's not a great swimmer, and the competition isn't a fierce one, Valentine said she'll probably push herself to do the whole thing.

"I don't like to quit," she said.

That tenacity will serve her well in her new post in which she'll have to answer to five bosses starting Monday. As the oldest of eight brothers and sisters and former head of the Clark County Flood Control District, she's accustomed to finding consensus among those who might otherwise not agree.

She's also accustomed to being the only woman in a roomful of men. After growing up with mostly brothers and only her father to raise her, Valentine was the only woman in her civil engineering class at the University of Idaho. After graduating, she went to Couer d'Alene, Idaho, where she worked as an engineer before coming to Las Vegas 17 years ago.

The first thing Valentine said she wants to do when she arrives at City Hall is sit down with the mayor and council members to establish goals for her position.

"I want to find out what their top priorities are and what they'd like me to do," she said.

She also wants an update on where the city is with a recent audit conducted by Management Partners and to get started on the city's legislative policies for the 1999 session.

"We could work with the other cities and Clark County," she said. "A united front from Southern Nevada is unbeatable."

When it comes to doing the dirty work -- giving the City Council bad news, for instance -- Valentine is just as energetic.

"Bad news doesn't improve with age," she said. "You can sit around and think about how you have to do something you don't want to, or you can do it."

A system that allows the council to remain up-to-date on projects is necessary Valentine said to avoid misunderstanding and harsh feelings. But it's not just her responsibility as city manager to use the system once she gets it in place.

"They do need to communicate with each other," she said. "I'd like to come up with a creative solution for that, but it's probably easier to say than to do."

Though she uses terms like "creative solutions," Valentine doesn't pay much attention to the newest management trends. For her, it all comes down to treating people with respect. She recounts a cartoon she recently read depicting Moses on the mountain holding two stone tablets.

In the picture, he was saying to the heavens, "OK, but I think we should call them the 10 habits of highly effective people."

Her reason for taking the job can be summed up this way:

After her engineering firm PBS&J finished its work at McCarran International Airport, Valentine said she can go and look at the pavement.

"I can say, 'Wow, this is great pavement' and feel good about it," she said.

But as city manager, she imagines 10 years from now driving to downtown Las Vegas to shop, see a movie, get some dinner.

"Imagine seeing a place where people want to hang out and go because it's a neat place," she said. "I can be a part of that."