Columnist Jeff German: Native Las Vegan comes to defense of gaming critic Dobson

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:29 a.m.

Not everyone in Las Vegas dislikes James Dobson, an anti-gaming religious-right leader who has a ton of followers across the country.

Last week, you'll recall, Dobson, a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, sent a letter to his supporters ripping into Las Vegas and its way of life.

His scathing attack was criticized in Sunday's column.

This week, I received e-mail responding to that criticism from Las Vegan Jean Romans, who wants to be known as a Dobson fan.

In the interest of fairness, here's what Romans had to say:

"Dear Mr. German:

"Thankfully, we live in a country where we have the right to express our opinion. Therefore, I wish to express mine concerning your comments about Dr. James Dobson.

"Your last paragraph states, 'I don't think Dobson cares. How can people of such good faith be so blind?' It is his faith that has given him the courage to stand up for what is right. He fears his accountability to God, not man's criticizing comments.

"Dr. Dobson is a man who stands up for what is right even at the expense of cruel judgment from the media. This illustrates how much he does care for the family. This is his life goal -- to improve the environment for our children. If this means the 'ripping' of LV, then so be it.

"I know LV is not an ideal environment for family and children. I have lived in Las Vegas all my life, and, yes, without the gaming we would have had to find work elsewhere. We are not in the gaming industry, but all (of us) who work in LV are effected by it. To leave LV was not God's plan for our lives.

"Dr. Dobson's faith is from knowing the heart of God and acting on it. His faith is far greater than you could ever see.

"Thank you for the opportunity to have my say."

You're welcome, Jean.

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President Manny Cortez does an excellent job of attracting tourists here.

That's why the veteran LVCVA boss got a $5,475 raise this week, upping his annual salary to $187,995.

But the increase was not as much as Cortez could have received, in part because of concerns about his inability to keep rank and file workers happy. The feeling is that if the employees who deal directly with convention-goers are stressed, the convention-goers will be, too.

Though a new labor agreement is about to be signed, morale has taken a nosedive at the LVCVA because of the cold-hearted management style of the supervisors who report to Cortez.

Now comes word of unhappiness at the convention center's little sister, the Cashman Field Center.

Conditions are said to have gotten so bad that some employees fear the workplace is on the verge of turning hostile.

If Cortez can find a way to boost the morale of his employees, he'll deserve a bigger raise next year.

Once the Nevada Republican Party's biggest benefactor, gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson hasn't contributed a dime to the GOP here since June, party officials confirm.

Though GOP leaders believe they can count on Adelson in a pinch, (he's still a big national Republican donor) they acknowledge the Venetian boss parted ways with them last June after a deal was struck with organized labor to abort the controversial paycheck-protection ballot initiative. Adelson was a strong backer of the measure that was aimed at checking labor's involvement in politics.

Nevada GOP boss John Mason got much of the credit for putting the deal together after it became clear the ballot measure would work against the party and its leading candidate for governor, Kenny Guinn.

Guinn, who opposed the initiative, went on to become the first Republican elected governor in 20 years.

But Adelson became so frustrated with the party's failure to follow through with the initiative that he decided to create his own political organization.

In 1997, Adelson was named the GOP's man of the year in Nevada for almost single-handedly keeping the party afloat. He was said to have poured as much as $500,000 into the party's coffers.

All that money and much more now goes toward promoting his own political agenda.