Columnist Jon Ralston: Curing the ills of Nevada politics

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000 | 2:51 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 by e-mail at ralston@vegas.com

LISTEN TO business types or commentators or even regular folks and you hear all manner of lamentations about the state of elected officialdom.

They're dummies. They're corrupt. They're beholden.

Lots of wailing. Few ideas for improvement.

Not this Sunday. Submitted for your consideration, a couple of solutions to what ails the body politic -- and make no mistake, here in Nevada, especially locally and legislatively, the afflictions are an epidemic.

No. 1 -- A CAPITAL IDEA: You may have seen legislative Democrats doing their best Claude Rains imitations, telling anyone who will listen (better if they're in the Fourth Estate, though) that they are shocked, shocked that the governor allowed a "backroom deal" to be consummated on electrical deregulation. The opportunistic Democrats are referring to a group of state officials, lawyers and private sector lobbyists gathering for weeks to hammer out a new deal on the abstruse issue because the power companies have hit on hard times between sessions.

Yes, this is a classic example of changing legislation outside the biennial sessions. But the only real difference between these backroom meetings and the ones that take place during the Legislature proper is that the lawmakers actually get invited to the ones during the sessions. And they later get to vote on the backroom deals, too. Not this one. Hence, the faux outrage.

This is a serious issue -- power deregulation. And what's happened here -- and on other issues, especially budgetary ones -- is a classic example of why there should be annual sessions. It's time. To let the Gang of 63 meet every other year for 120 days has allowed the lawmakers to become mere rubber-stamps -- and now, in this case, not even that -- for lobbyist-brokered deals that are rushed through the process.

No. 2 -- PAY NOW OR PAY LATER: Anyone who has been around Las Vegas for awhile has privately whispered during the last few years that the quality of local government has been strained. So, too, at the state level, and more so, as caucus bosses will tell you, in attracting good people to run. Oh, there have been exceptions -- in Henderson, of course. But Las Vegas and Clark County especially have not been bastions of good government. (Someone tell Oscar Goodman I'm not talking about him so he doesn't, ahem, put a hit out on me.)

These people are all paid a relative pittance, especially state legislators. So generally the only people who want the jobs are rich folks who don't need the pittance and others who couldn't get better-paying jobs if they tried. For their sakes, I won't name names. Not a recipe for quality legislation -- but certainly one for the lobbyists and special interests to hold sway over outmanned elected officials.

So what's the answer? The time has come: Pay them more and give them staff support. Then quality people will run, and they will not have to have research and information provided by lobbyists.

I'm even at the point where having full-time legislators seems like a lesser evil than having lawmakers and local government officials who look to the public as if they are wearing special interest jerseys too much of the time.

The problem, of course, is that past and all-too current misdeeds will make the hoi polloi skeptical of giving pay increases. But unless these folks are paid a better salary, you will get the government you have paid for.

That's enough castor oil for one day. In the future, though, let's talk about appointing regents, judges and school board members and mandating immediate campaign finance disclosure on the Internet. Oh, and maybe actually getting the public to pay attention. That might help, too.