Nevada legislator mulled for Bush position

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Las Vegas Assemblyman Dennis Nolan could be headed for Washington, D.C., for a mid-level job in the administration of President-elect George W. Bush.

Nolan, a four-term Republican, confirmed Tuesday that Sen.-elect John Ensign, R-Nev., Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and Republican adviser Sig Rogich have all sent letters to the Bush transition team, recommending that he be considered as assistant secretary of labor in charge of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Nolan said he has not heard anything from the Bush administration but was told by an official of the American Legislative Exchange Council that he was being considered for the post.

It could be months before Nolan hears anything because Bush must first fill the jobs in his Cabinet and other sub-Cabinet level positions. And Nolan isn't even sure he would take the job. "I'm happy what I'm doing here, and I don't know what I would do," he said.

In any case, Nolan would like to complete his service in the 2001 Legislature if he decides to make a change.

Nolan is corporate director of safety and loss prevention for ATC Transportation Companies, which operate the municipal bus lines in Las Vegas and Reno and also run transit systems in 30 other states. And he has been chairman of a committee on worker safety at the American Legislative Exchange Council.

"To me, it's a great honor just to be considered," he said.

Nolan was a paramedic in Las Vegas for 15 years, the last eight in administration involved in training, safety and loss prevention programs. He was a safety consultant for a year before his present job. He has received national certification as a safety professional and also as an occupational health and safety technologist.

He said some legislators from other states talked to him about applying for the federal safety program job because of his background. He said he talked with Gibbons, who wrote a letter to the president-elect on his behalf. Gibbons suggested he talk with Rogich, who also sent a letter to Clay Johnson, executive director of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, recommending Nolan. And Ensign has done the same thing. All three included his resume, he said.

In his election campaigns, he has said he supports the mandatory use of safety devices, including safety belts, child seats, motorcycle helmets and air bags, "when their use clearly demonstrates they save lives ... and when their use can be reasonably enforced."