Von Tobel loses powerful committee job

Monday, Nov. 23, 1998 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Second term Assemblywoman Kathy Von Tobel of Las Vegas has been bounced off the powerful Ways and Means Committee because of a "lack of courtesy and decorum."

But Von Tobel thinks she's been removed, in an unprecedented action, because she took a strong stand against the University and Community College System of Nevada and the merit pay for faculty. "I asked tough questions and expected accountability of state agencies and the university."

Traditionally Democrats and Republicans appoint their own party members to serve on committees. Neither side changes the other's nominees. But it happened in the Von Tobel case.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Minden, named Von Tobel as one of the four Republicans to be on the committee that fashions the state budget. She had served on the committee in 1997 as a freshman.

But when the Democratic majority released the full list of committee assignments Friday, Von Tobel had been removed from Ways and Means and replaced by Republican Bob Beers, also of Las Vegas. Von Tobel said Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, had telephoned Hettrick, who was in Disneyland on vacation and demanded she be pulled off the committee.

Asked why Von Tobel was removed, Perkins said, "We had a disagreement as to her participation on that committee." Asked if she was too aggressive in her questioning, Perkins said that was not the case. "It's how she participated. We should have more courtesy and decorum. She lacked courtesy and decorum the last time."

Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, said Clark County Democrats "felt she was not in tune with the feeling of Clark County." She was against the university and was hard to work with." He said "this wasn't my call. I listened to the members."

Hettrick said he was surprised by the move of the Democrats and added that this has never happened before as far as he knows. But he said the majority party has the right to make the appointments.

"I don't know what's going on. I didn't think she was out of line (last session). She asked tough questions, but she did what she thought was right."

Von Tobel said it would be a "sad thing" if the university had the power to remove her from the committee because of her tough stance.

Von Tobel also was involved in one flap on the committee with Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas.

She told leadership that he was pulling up indecent pictures on his lap-top computer during committee sessions -- a charge he denied. They were seated next to each other, and after she complained, she was moved away from him.

"I would be very disappointed if this is the fallout from that, but I will never know," Von Tobel said. "It crossed my mind."

When she was asked about the incident during the Legislature, she told reporters nothing had happened. But after the session, she admitted she had lodged the complaint.

"Never once was I told I was out of line by Moose (Committee Chairman Morse Arberry) or Raggio (Senate Finance Chairman Bill Raggio)," she said. "Never was I called in by my own leadership.

"If there was a history, I could see that ... but not once," she said.

Although she's disappointed, she said she would do the job with the switch to the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. And she said she will continue her campaign against the merit pay program in the university system, even though she's not on the budget building committee.

Here is a breakdown of committee assignments in the Assembly with the first named as chairman and the second as vice chairman:

Ways and Means: Democrats Morse Arberry of Las Vegas, Jan Evans of Sparks, Vonne Chowning of North Las Vegas Marcia de Braga of Fallon, Joe Dini of Yerington; Goldwater, Chris Giunchigliani of Las Vegas, David Parks of Las Vegas, Perkins and Bob Price. Republicans are Hettrick, Beers, Barbara Cegavske of Las Vegas and John Marvel of Battle Mountain.

Judiciary: Democrat Bernie Anderson of Sparks, Mark Manendo of Las Vegas, Barbara Buckley of Las Vegas, Jerry Claborn of Las Vegas, Tom Collins of Las Vegas, Ellen Koivisto of Las Vegas, Sheila Leslie of Reno, Kathy McClain of Las Vegas and Genie Ohrenschall of Las Vegas. Republicans Sharron Angle of Reno, Greg Brower of Reno, John Carpenter of Elko, Don Gustavson of Sun Valley and Dennis Nolan of Las Vegas.

Government Affairs: Democrats Doug Bache of Las Vegas, John Lee of Las Vegas, Vivian Freeman of Reno, Harry Mortenson of Las Vegas, Roy Neighbors of Tonopah, Bonnie Parnell of Carson City, Gene Segerblom of Boulder City, Kelly Thomas of Las Vegas, Wendell Williams of Las Vegas. Republicans Merle Berman of Las Vegas Dawn Gibbons of Reno, Dave Humke of Reno, Sandra Tiffany of Henderson and Von Tobel.

Health and Human Services: Democrats Freeman, Koivisto, Buckley, Leslie, Manendo, Mcclain, Thomas and Williams. Republicans Angle, Berman, Gibbons and Von Tobel.

Natural Resources: Democrats de Braga, Segerblom, Bache, Claborn, Lee, Mortenson, Neighbors, Ohrenschall and Parnell. Republicans Carpenter, Hettrick, Humke and Marvel.

Commerce and Labor: Democrats Buckley, Perkins, Arberry, Dini, Evans, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, parks and Segerblom. Republicans Beers, Berman, Hettrick, Humke and Nolan.

Education: Democrats Williams, Collins, Anderson, Chowning, de Braga, Koivisto, manendo, Ohrenschall and Parnell. Republicans Angle, Brower, Cegavske and Gustavson.

Taxation: Democrats Goldwater, Neighbors, Anderson, Arberry, Freeman, Lee, Manendo, Mortenson and Price. Republicans Brower, Gibbons, Marvel and Tiffany.

Transportation: Democrats Chowning, Ohrenschall, Bache, Claborn, Collins, Mcclain, Parks, Parnell and Thomas. Republicans Carpenter, Cegavske, Gustavson and Nolan.

Elections, Procedures and Ethics: Democrats Giunchigliani, Price, Dini, Leslie, Mcclain and Perkins. Republicans Beers, Tiffany and Von Tobel.