Columnist Jon Ralston: Guinn gets it, but can he give it away?

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2000 | 9:51 a.m.

Jon Ralston, who publishes the Ralston Report, writes a column for the Sun on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or through e-mail at ralston@vegas.com

LIKE RONALD REAGAN'S sun coming up in America or George Bush's backdrop of flags, Kenny Guinn's chat with lawmakers this week was mostly about symbolism.

Message: He cares. About Democrats, that is, and their opinions. (Rep. Shelley Berkley excluded.)

Democratic lawmakers left the meeting perplexed, believing that Guinn was well-intentioned in his outreach to them and his willingness to give them early access to budget numbers. But some were wary that the governor was mostly concerned that he would be perceived as bipartisan when the media reported the event. "He meant well," said one Democrat who was there. "But in the end, nothing got done."

But of course the point wasn't to accomplish anything. Only the most rabid Democratic partisan would question Guinn's sincerity in this endeavor -- anyone who saw him wander the Legislative Building during Session '99, breaking bread with Democrats, knows that for Guinn partisanship is not a reflex but a chore. (Rep. Shelley Berkley again excluded.)

Guinn's problem, though, isn't his intent; it's his execution. No governor has ever been as serious about fixing the state's rickety fiscal boat as has Guinn. But if Monday's confab symbolized anything, it was how the best laid plans of poor communicators often go awry. To wit:

Guinn, sources report, lapsed into one of his worst habits with the lawmakers, which is his didactic mode where he treats legislators as children whom he must educate on the state budget. Granted, no governor has ever understood the minutiae of the budget better than Guinn. And some of the Gang of 63 could use the lesson, which Guinn delivered in similar fashion for almost a half-hour during his first State of the State.

But these were senior Democrats who didn't want to be put through what one called a "budget for dummies" exposition for 45 minutes. Yes, they appreciated the governor's listening to their priorities, including his sympathy for reforming the child welfare system. But they also were puzzled by Guinn's insistence that teachers should not be coupled with state employees in the search for money for pay raises.

Guinn's position that the educators can just collectively bargain for their money at the local level is disingenuous at best -- and the former schools superintendent knows it. That's the state sending an unfunded mandate to the district, something Superintendent Kenny Guinn would have railed about.

Worse, Guinn knows -- and has said privately -- that he believes education needs more money, that other programs need to be better funded and that something needs to be done with the tax structure. Of course, Guinn may be letting his anger at the teachers, for ignoring his desire for them to drop their business tax petition, get the better of him. Ironically, of course, Guinn privately has told folks that he thinks businesses in the state should pay more.

As part of his lecture Monday to lawmakers, Guinn pointed out what he called the "masking" of the state's financial picture by the surpluses generated because of inaccurate economic projections. The public sees surpluses and would never understand that money can't be used for important, ongoing programs -- some lawmakers don't even get that.

So he is frustrated how to make his case, his earnestness notwithstanding. His original plan seemed to be to present a hold-the-line budget in 1999 and then come back in 2001 as the public felt the pain of his austerity with a tax reform package. But political considerations (he is up in 2002) and poor messaging (his "should I or shouldn't I" dance during the intervening 18 months) have forced him into a holding pattern.

Guinn, as he has been since he ran for governor, exudes an abiding concern about the state's finances and really is looking for ways to save money and spend it more wisely. But as he challenges orthodoxies within state government, he has to find a way to translate his sincerity into clarity.

Here, too, symbolism and the big picture can be important, much more so than the arcane, small picture details of the budget. That's a lesson Guinn will have to learn if he has any hope of achieving his long-term goals.