Columnist Jeff German: Guinn’s honeymoon with Dems may be over

Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000 | 2:01 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com.

These are potentially treacherous political times for first-term Gov. Kenny Guinn.

As he works overtime preparing the state budget, Guinn is struggling to come up with money to give much-needed pay raises to teachers and state and university employees.

Guinn says he needs to juggle $40 million to $50 million to recommend small salary hikes for the state employees, but the teachers are likely to get shut out.

This week the personable governor, still considered a political novice, is looking for help from the Legislature as he contemplates some tough decisions. He has summoned the newly elected leaders of both parties in the Senate and Assembly to the governor's mansion for a budget powwow on Monday.

"I'm opening up communications," he says. "I'm trying to let them have a part in outlining the budget."

Though Guinn insists his intentions are noble, the gathering is being viewed with skepticism by Democrats, who have seen the Republican governor become increasingly partisan in recent months. They fear he might try to steal their ideas.

"The feeling is the honeymoon is over," says Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, who has never enjoyed a close relationship with Guinn. "The Assembly Democrats are pretty upset with the role he played in some of their races."

Speaker-elect Richard Perkins says relations between the governor and Democrats in his house are at their lowest in two years.

"I think he's going to have a more difficult time now because of what happened during the campaign," Perkins says. "Some of our members are going to look at the things he's doing a little more critically."

Assembly Democrats, who have a 27-15 majority, still are fuming at Guinn for sending out GOP campaign letters urging voters to back Republican candidates.

Guinn defends his new-found partisanship.

"I think it's fully expected of me," he says. "I absolutely have to come out and collect money for other Republicans."

But Democrats contend he went too far during the last election.

"I haven't seen a sitting governor become that involved in individual campaigns," Perkins says. "He has to remember that his agenda will come through an Assembly that is dominated by Democrats."

Complicating Guinn's tenuous situation with Democrats is the lack of continuity at his most trusted position, chief of staff. Guinn recently announced that he has hired former casino executive Marybel Batjer as his third chief of staff in two years.

For Guinn, who wants to run for a second term in 2002, walking on partisan ground is unfamiliar territory.

Like his predecessor, former Democratic Gov. Bob Miller, Guinn has a long history of appealing to people in both parties. That's how he got elected two years ago over Jan Jones, a well-known Democratic Las Vegas mayor.

Miller parlayed his political even-handedness into high approval ratings during his record-setting 10 years in office.

Democrats, though they acknowledge that Guinn remains popular with the public, say the governor has not demonstrated that same respect toward their party.

They say he has offended other influential Democrats -- people like his longtime friends, Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan.

The senators were reported to be so upset at the apparent heavy-handed way in which Guinn tried to unseat Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley that they did television ads on her behalf to put her over the top.

Perkins, meanwhile, says Monday's meeting at the governor's mansion will give Assembly Democrats a chance to deliver their concerns directly to Guinn.

It also may give the governor a chance to smooth things over with the Democrats at a time when he really needs their support.