County official Cotton retires after 15 years

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Nov. 9, 2001 | 9:41 a.m.

George Cotton, director of the Clark County's Equal Employment Opportunity division, retired on Thursday after 15 years at the County Government Center, saying he wants to "take a break from public service."

Cotton's retirement was announced two days after commissioners approved a countywide departmental reorganization plan that included a policy change in the Equal Employment Opportunity office.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly, who said Cotton's position will be eliminated, said he hopes to see the office be more proactive by training and educating department heads, as opposed to waiting until lawsuits are filed.

"We want to make it more proactive and get away from the litigation side," Reilly said. "Part of that is how we can focus more on training and being more proactive on issues like diversity."

Reilly said he will not fill Cotton's position because the Equal Employment Opportunity office's staff is already considered to be too large. The county's division has 13 employees, compared to the city of Las Vegas' division, which has 1.5, and the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, which has one employee.

"I think we have enough staff to work with," Reilly said of the division, which is under the Human Resources Department.

Cotton's last day was today.

In a statement released to the media, Cotton said he wants to take a break from public service, but called the county "one of the greatest governmental organizations in the country."