Editorial: Remember who chose Sandoval

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 9:03 a.m.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval, a Republican, has compiled a resume impressive enough to earn a recommendation from Democratic Sen. Harry Reid that he become a federal judge. A former two-term assemblyman, Sandoval was appointed in 1998 as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission by Democratic Gov. Bob Miller. He served three and a half years before resigning to run for attorney general. He won that seat in 2002.

Reid, with the concurrence of Sen. John Ensign, has recommended Sandoval to replace U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben of Reno, who will give up his position in April. As attorney general, Sandoval has strongly enforced the state's open meeting law, notably in his rulings against the Board of Regents. And it was Sandoval who initiated the investigation against Controller Kathy Augustine for campaign violations. She has now been impeached by the Assembly and awaits trial in the Senate.

In the courts, Sandoval has been effective as the state's point man against Yucca Mountain, the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas where the federal government wants to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste. In July a federal appeals court handed Nevada a momentous victory. On an appeal from Nevada, it ruled that the Energy Department is building Yucca Mountain to be theoretically safe against radiation for only 10,000 years, when a much longer duration -- several hundred thousand years -- is needed.

Sandoval, though, hasn't had an entirely unblemished record on Yucca. He accepted the job of co-chairman -- along with Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn -- of President Bush's re-election campaign in Nevada. He was highly visible at the Republican National Convention, giving a speech praising Bush's leadership and serving as an escort as the president made his way to the podium to give his acceptance speech. This was bad judgment, in our view, as it is Bush who is using all of his power to open Yucca Mountain, a project that poses grave danger to Nevadans.

As politics is full of kibitzers, there are some who suggest Reid nominated Sandoval to remove a strong Republican from future candidacies for governor or Congress. There is also talk that Reid, who on Tuesday became Senate Minority Leader, recommended Sandoval partly so he wouldn't look so partisan in challenging Bush's nominations for federal judges. Reid's office denies any such motivations, preferring to cite Sandoval's qualifications.

In selecting a replacement for Sandoval, we hope Gov. Guinn takes his cue from Gov. Miller and Sen. Reid. Each crossed party lines in appointing and recommending Sandoval when positions opened for which they felt he was qualified. Guinn should consider doing so too, if it means getting the strongest candidate.