Editorial: Nevadans will miss a great man

Saturday, March 6, 2004 | 1:55 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: March 7, 2004

In Friday's Las Vegas Sun the story on Mike O'Callaghan's death carried a headline that succinctly summed up his importance and contribution to Nevada: "A giant dies." O'Callaghan, a Korean War hero and popular two-term governor, was one of the most powerful and influential individuals this state has ever seen.

As governor from 1971 to 1979, O'Callaghan helped push through many things we take for granted today. He won stronger protections for the environment and led the way to preserve Lake Tahoe's natural beauty. He fought for equal rights protections and the welfare of disadvantaged children and was a strong proponent of public education. He also supported strong consumer protections and created a program that provides reasonably priced loans to first-time homebuyers who otherwise might not be able to buy a home. He was a strong believer in the First Amendment, and he helped push through a tough open meeting law that requires Nevada's state and local government to conduct their business in public.

O'Callaghan's record in getting a progressive agenda adopted was extraordinary because it occurred at a time when rural and conservative state legislators held considerable sway in the Legislature -- and weren't used to losing. His success was due in no small part to his blunt, hard-nosed style of governing, a fierceness that could bend even the toughest of legislators. He understood political hardball as well as anyone, but its purpose was just: to make Nevada a better place to live. If there is a common thread to O'Callaghan's public service, it is that he cared deeply and passionately for those who didn't have a voice.

Born at the beginning of the Great Depression, O'Callaghan knew firsthand about hard times and how a strong government could provide jobs, keep families together and, very importantly, restore hope. He also was a true patriot, enlisting in the Marines when he was just 16. Later he served in the Army and fought during the Korean War. It was there where O'Callaghan lost part of his left leg during battle. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with a V for valor and the Silver Star. Despite the loss of a limb, O'Callaghan's indomitable spirit resulted in him later becoming an ironworker and, after that, a schoolteacher. It was as a schoolteacher that he became a mentor to Harry Reid, who today is the U.S. Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat.

O'Callaghan could have had his choice of many lucrative offers once he left the Governor's Office in 1979, but instead he came to the Las Vegas Sun as an executive. Las Vegas, and the entire state, is better for that choice. His statewide influence continued at the newspaper, where his column chronicled the difficulties facing destitute Nevadans and those still struggling to get by from paycheck to paycheck. He didn't shrink from taking the private sector to task when it failed to do what was right for the community, and he didn't hesitate to criticize government when it fell down on the job. He also had a keen interest in international affairs. He traveled around the world, most frequently to the Middle East and Central America. O'Callaghan traveled to Israel just last year, filing dispatches for the Sun from the country that had recently seen a wave of s uicide bombings.

He was much more than a newspaperman, though. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, an incredibly generous man who also gave much of his time and money to worthy causes. He spent countless early mornings feeding the homeless in Las Vegas, frequently traveled to Israel to perform volunteer work, and periodically went to Nicaragua to help an orphanage he had adopted.

It's difficult to think of Nevada -- or the Las Vegas Sun -- without Mike O'Callaghan, but we are comforted by the knowledge that his spirit of giving and compassion will live on through the many thousands of lives he touched.