Columnist Jeff German: Miller sells out his party

Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

It used to be that when we thought of former Democratic Gov. Bob Miller, we envisioned someone who championed the causes of the people.

Now we see someone who has sold out to special interests.

Miller's decision to film a television ad for Nevada Power opposing Question 14 has left members of his own party shaking their heads in dismay.

But more importantly, it has betrayed the little guy looking for relief from a poorly managed company that has been ripping off the public.

Question 14 merely is an advisory proposition that encourages the Legislature to remove a legal roadblock barring a hostile public takeover of a utility.

But though it has no real impact on the electorate, it has become a symbol of Nevada Power's campaign to fend off the Southern Nevada Water Authority's $3.2 billion bid to buy the company.

While claiming to be in dire financial straits and seeking a $922 million public bailout, Nevada Power has poured more than $1.6 million -- cash that could have been used to lower our monthly bills -- into the fight against Question 14.

Miller, who ran the state for a record 10 years before stepping down in January 1999, has played right along with Nevada Power. His law firm, Jones Vargas, is on the utility's payroll.

The former governor says his opposition to Question 14 is consistent with his longtime leanings against government takeovers of private enterprise.

He also acknowledges that his position is not popular with members of his own party.

"I know there probably has been some grousing, but you have to speak up for what you believe," he says.

Or at least for what your clients believe.

By prostituting himself for Nevada Power, Miller has harmed his reputation as a champion of the people and done a huge disservice to his political friends and colleagues.

He has become the Democratic Party's answer to former Republican Gov. Bob List, who struck pay dirt with the nuclear waste industry.

Miller's leap to the dark side of the power struggle illustrates the trouble his party has been having this election identifying itself to the voters.

Twenty years ago Democrats exploited public outrage over Nevada Power rate hikes to elect Richard Bryan governor. Motorists were encouraged to honk their horns every time they drove by the company's posh headquarters on West Sahara Avenue. It was a pervasive campaign that really caught fire.

This year organized labor, a traditional source of Democratic support, tried to make Nevada Power a rallying cry to get out the vote.

But Democrats failed to complement labor's efforts by seizing on the issue the way they did in 1982.

"People get excited about issues, not politicians," says Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor. "Our members are concerned about their power bills, and very few politicians stood up for them."

Taylor says the Democrats made a "gigantic" mistake by not going after Nevada Power harder.

It's the reason, he says, union leaders in the trenches have noticed that the public's response to Democratic candidates has been flat.

A trio of statewide Democratic candidates, Dario Herrera, Erin Kenny and John Hunt, raised the subject periodically, but for the most part they dropped the ball.

The Democratic Party itself never once sounded off against Nevada Power.

And now Miller, a prominent party leader, is undercutting those Democrats who did make noises by siding with the unpopular utility.

Look at the attorney general's race, for example. Miller has appeared in television ads backing Question 14 and Hunt at the same time.

Which Miller are we to believe?

The one who wants us to help Nevada Power fend off a Water Authority takeover? Or the one who wants us to vote for Hunt, who supports the takeover?

With no one to champion the public's chief cause this year, no wonder the pundits are predicting bad things for Democrats at the polls tonight.

As for Miller, his credibility is gone -- sold to a very high bidder.