Opponents criticize Board of Regents incumbents’ achievements

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000 | 11:40 a.m.

Two members of the state Board of Regents are running for re-election this year.

Mark Alden and David Phillips, regents of Subdistricts D and A respectively, both say they are in the midst of projects they want to see to the finish.

But their opponents criticize the performance of the incumbents and say it is time to change the way higher education is overseen in Nevada.

Henderson high-tech businessman Jim Ratigan, 47, making his first bid for political office, criticizes Alden for not being the watchdog he claims to be and for waffling on the issues.

"The spaceship he's looking at -- it's not off by a mile. It's supposed to be going East and it's going West," Ratigan said.

Ratigan, who has served on high-tech advisory boards at the local and state levels for higher education, said the investigations into fiscal management practices at the Community College of Southern Nevada wouldn't be in the newspapers if Alden was doing his job as chairman of the audit committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Regents.

Alden, 56, a certified public accountant, said overhauling the audit system is an issue he has been working on since before the investigations of CCSN.

"The system needs to change from being compliance-based and nitpicking to an operational overview," Alden said, adding that he is pushing for more external checks on university system fiscal accounting.

Alden also supports establishing a third institute for higher education, "but we have to make sure we're on solid ground with UNLV and CCSN," he said.

The proposed state college at Henderson, which failed recently to get $36 million in funding for construction of buildings, is in the hands of the Legislature, Alden said.

Ratigan criticizes Alden's position, asking how in February Alden could say he was against budgeting even a dollar for the state college and then in June, vote with the rest of the board to recommend the $36 million in funding.

Ratigan, who has raised $36,000 to Alden's $56,000, said he wants more accountability from university officials. He also believes regents need to better define the long-term roles of each institution.

In the race for Subdistrict A, Linda Howard has taken aim at Phillips' weak attendance record and questions his input on many of the projects he takes credit for helping establish.

"I'll bring 100 percent representation to the seat," said Howard, 45, a part-time student and former guest service representative for a local casino. "I don't feel people are getting that representation now. They're only getting it 58 percent of the time."

During his six years as regent, Phillips has made 58 percent of board and committee meetings, according to systems records.

"I'm a product of the system," said Phillips, 48, who graduated from Clark County High School and UNLV before heading to Washington, D.C., to earn his law degree from Howard University. "I want to make sure it works. I know where the weaknesses are."

With a new chancellor and three searches under way for new school presidents, Phillips said he wants to stay on to play a role during a time of transition.

He is also concerned by proposals to reduce the number of regents from 11 to nine as part of redistricting.

"If you look at a map, it's like they built everything in a doughnut. Right in the center (West Las Vegas), there are no institutions," Phillips said.

As part of his ongoing drive to provide equal access for minorities, Phillips points to his work establishing the UNLV continuing education downtown center, a dental school clinic and the A.D. Guy Educational Center.

Howard, who lost to Phillips by about 500 votes six years ago, disputes his role in those projects.

If elected, Howard said she would improve education by improving teacher and faculty compensation and offering more professional programs at the institutions.

Howard has raised about $5,000 for her campaign. Phillips, who was fined $1,475 for not submitting campaign finance reports in September, declined to comment on how much money he has raised.