Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Reputation repair seen as key issue in regents’ race

Dealing with the budget crunch is job No. 1 for state Board of Regents candidates, but cleaning up the board's embarrassing antics runs a close second, candidates said.

Two board members' public battle reached a crescendo last week after Regent Mark Alden criticized Regent Linda Howard, called for her resignation and called her an "orangutan" on a radio program.

The comments prompted Howard, who is black, to call Alden a racist.

The exchange prompted criticism of the board's conduct.

With two new members to be added to the 11-member board, the question remains whether the additions will bring harmony or more havoc.

"I find it unfortunate because the board immediately loses credibility," said Robert Forbuss, a District 2 candidate.

Candidates running in Districts 2, 3, 5 and 12 agreed that the reputation of the board that oversees the University and Community College System of Nevada needs to be repaired.

All eight candidates have very different ideas about how to tackle the challenges.

Forbuss, a 54-year-old teacher-turned-entrepreneur, said the board should focus on a joint effort to get the word out about higher education's desperate need for funding.

Forbuss has strong ties in the business community and is backed by a long list of endorsers, while his opponent Bret Whipple, 36, a lawyer, accountant and newcomer to politics is relying on grass-roots efforts.

Whipple is calling for more financial accountability and questioning the benefit of projects such as Nevada State College at Henderson and where the university system will get the money to keep it running.

In District 3, incumbent Thalia Dondero is going up against University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Paul Aizley.

The 66-year-old Aizley said he was "furious" to find out that Howard accessed students' personal files and that he will work to prevent that from happening again.

Aizley said he wants to prioritize spending in the system, with the goal of making UNLV a top research institution.

"People are not going to come to Nevada without a research institution in this city that supports high-tech industry," Aizley said.

Incumbent Dondero, 81, believes Aizley's affiliation with the university is a liability.

"He's a faculty member and he has a conflict of interest," Dondero said. "How can you be your boss's boss? He will not be able to vote on a lot of things."

Dondero is relying on her experience as a regent, former county commissioner, and more than 40 years of public service.

District 5 candidate Aldo Aguirre is another challenger who has been employed by both Southern Nevada higher education institutions. He says that won't be a problem.

"I don't believe that would be a factor," Aguirre said. "I think my experience as a teacher helps to understand the barriers that some of the students face."

Aguirre, 42, said he wants to see the board move away from personal attacks and instead focus on solving problems such as a looming fiscal crisis.

"The question is, can we continue to create a strong university system with the money that we have?" Aguirre said. "I want to be sure that what we are prioritizing is going to benefit the students."

Aguirre, an education consultant, came in second to opponent Jack Lund Schofield in the primary election.

Schofield, 79, is banking partly on his name recognition after serving as a state legislator from 1970 to 1978. His nephew, Mark Schofield, is running for county assessor.

Regent candidate Schofield's most controversial idea is to take money from Northern Nevada and give it to the south.

"The board still has the age-old issue between north and south," Schofield said. "If we pay 70 percent of the taxes and we have 70 percent of the population in the south, then we should get 70 percent of the revenues for our universities."

The District 12 race has a third candidate who is also an educator. Stavros Anthony is a Metro Police captain who moonlights as an adjunct professor.

The 45-year-old captain wants to see regents more visibly championing higher education and courting business interests rather than attacking one another.

"Regents are supposed to be thinking more globally," Anthony said. "They are supposed to be thinking about how they can get people excited about higher education."

Anthony's opponent is Jeff Knight, who was unavailable for comment.

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