Columnist Jon Ralston: Nolen was consummate City Hall insider

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2001 | 8:43 a.m.

Jon Ralston hosts the public affairs program "Face to Face" on Las Vegas ONE and also publishes the Ralston Report. His column for the Sun appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or through e-mail at ralston@vegas.com

NOTES ON A PASSING and a boring election year to come:

* The transitional man: I admit it -- I liked Bob Nolen. Yes, I know a lot of people thought he was the epitome of the Nevada good old boy -- a crusty, gravelly voiced sort who always seemed to be operating on the edge.

Indeed, Nolen did bend the system as a Las Vegas City Councilman, often getting his way through his relationships with key city staffers (some of whom he saw to it got hired) and his ability to maneuver his colleagues in the inside game.

He was gruff, occasionally surly, sometimes impatient. He knew who his friends were and he was willing to help them, too. But Nolen didn't do what so many elected officials do -- he did not take himself very seriously.

He knew politics was a game -- and it was a game he played well, often hiring the best talent, which allowed him to fend off a series of recalls.

Yes, Nolen played racial politics once in awhile -- he appealed to the redneck vote in his ward and let various minority candidates flail about trying to find a base. But by the time he tried the same game against Lawrence Weekly this year, time had passed him by. Everyone knew that it was a group of black ministers who couldn't get Weekly to do their bidding who went to Nolen and urged him to take on the African-American incumbent.

Nolen never had a chance and lost in a landslide.

But to the end, Nolen showed a toughness that made him ever-available to the media, whether he was parrying questions about his ethics troubles as constable or whispering about a great inside City Hall story. Those in the Fourth Estate who took the time to get to know Nolen -- over a burger or a beer -- found him to be a great source, a wealth of information about the inner workings of City Hall.

Like other inside players who used their street smarts to overcome their lack of glibness -- Frank Hawkins and Michael McDonald come to mind -- he was a real power for a time on Stewart Avenue.

Yes, Nolen was a consummate Las Vegas good old boy, the kind of local elected official who will not be seen again as more professional types get elected. But as his wife, Cindy, put it, "You always knew where you stood with him."

How many politicians can you say that about these days?

* Sleeper '02? It may be too early to despair quite yet -- and Sept. 11 has caused political unpredictability along with every other kind of uncertainty -- but next year's election season is shaping up as a monumental snoozefest. Beyond one indubitably interesting congressional race for that new seat and a possibly provocative one between Rep. Shelley Berkley and City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, what else do we have?

As I've said, Gov. Kenny Guinn couldn't lose unless he hinted at new taxes and predicted higher power rates. And, actually, he's done that -- and he still can't lose. Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny wants to run, but even if she does (I'd say it's 50-50), she will be a huge underdog. The Democrats already have written this off and are just trying to put on a good show.

The rest of the constitutional offices also look like an ennui festival.

Republican Brian Sandoval is a heavy favorite unless the Democrats find someone -- and if Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, as many expect, doesn't run, the Democrats are in big trouble here, too.

The Democrats will not defeat Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt or Secretary of State Dean Heller -- their farm team is weak right now. And if you're looking for excitement from the controller's race between incumbent Kathy Augustine and Assemblyman John Lee, well, that's how desperate we've become.

The Clark County Commission races also look like nonraces from this vantage point. Rory Reid, who will have half a million dollars by the end of the year, can't lose Dario Herrera's seat. If Kenny runs for re-election, she is likely to crush a field of little-knowns. And Myrna Williams also is a heavy favorite, now that the one person who might have been able to defeat her, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, has indicated she wants to return to Carson City.

So we have to count on legislative races and maybe the district attorney's contest for excitement next year? And while everyone is expecting the Herrera-Jon Porter congressional seat to be close, you are really a Pollyanna if you also expect it to be sizzling with excitement.

It's almost enough to make a pundit despair. Thank goodness for the possibility, unlikely thought it may be, that I could be wrong.