LV businessman Forbuss enters race for regent

Erin Neff

Thursday, May 9, 2002 | 9:59 a.m.

Bob Forbuss, one of Clark County's most visible businessmen, has filed to run for the state Board of Regents.

Forbuss, president of Strategic Alliance and former Clark County School Board member, filed Wednesday to run in District 2 (formerly District B), a seat currently held by Laura Lopez Hobbs.

Hobbs, a senior human resources manager at Southwest Gas Corp., was appointed in February to replace Tom Wiesner just days after Wiesner resigned due to a battle with leukemia.

Even before Gov. Kenny Guinn's appointment of Hobbs, Forbuss had expressed an interest in running for the northwest Las Vegas regent district.

"I've been committed to public education for most of my life," Forbuss said Wednesday after filing.

He said he had not talked to Hobbs about his candidacy and was not certain if she would run for election. Wiesner was elected in 1996, and the six-year term for his seat expires in November. Hobbs could not be reached.

Forbuss, 54, is a Democrat and former chairman of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce board. He currently serves on the Las Vegas Housing Authority Board.

Although the Nevada State College at Henderson has grabbed its share of headlines in recent years, Forbuss said the start-up school is only one small facet of the pressing needs facing the University and Community College System of Nevada.

"The big issue is how we fund public education for all of the schools," Forbuss said. "From K-12 to community colleges and the universities, the big issue is where do we get the money for all of the schools?"

Forbuss launched Strategic Alliance -- a business consulting firm that shares an office with powerful political consultant Sig Rogich's business -- with his friend and former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones.

He has served on a number of public committees and task forces throughout the business and education fields in recent years. Forbuss also hosts numerous fund-raisers for Democratic candidates and has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for elected offices ranging from Clark County Commission to the Legislature.