Two county officials moving on to new careers

Stephen Curran

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 | 8:49 a.m.

Two of Clark County's most powerful offices will have new tenants in the coming months as one assistant county manager goes to work for a prominent Southern Nevada developer and another prepares to run for attorney general.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly announced Tuesday that Assistant County Manager Catherine Cortez Masto is expected to leave her position Aug. 12 to prepare for a run for attorney general on the Democratic ticket, a move she said was announced to county officials in late May.

Assistant County Manager Rick Holmes, a 26-year employee of the county, will step down in early October to work for Las Vegas development giant Focus Property Group, county spokesman Erik Pappa said.

Under existing county management structure, Holmes oversees the county Development Services department and is a liaison between the county and development-related agencies, including the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Regional Transportation Commission and Flood Control District.

Holmes, who confirmed that he planned to step down to take a job with a prominent developer but would not say which firm, announced his decision to leave his $164,000-a-year job last week, Pappa said.

A county-mandated "cooling off" period will preclude him from appearing before the County Commission for a year after his resignation, and he will be barred by its ethics code from deciding on any Focus projects before he steps down, Pappa said. Their departures set off a kind of domino effect as jobs within the county are reshuffled to fill the positions.

Deputy Public Defender Elizabeth Quillin is expected to assume Cortez Masto's duties, which include working with Metro Police and county legal agencies, according to a county statement.

Before taking the county job in January 2002, Cortez Masto, now 41, was a federal criminal prosecutor for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C., and had served as former Gov. Bob Miller's chief of staff.

"It (the attorney general position) is basically something I've prepared for all my life," Cortez Masto said. "My background, my experience fits in with the obligations and the authority."

Holmes, now 56, joined the county in 1979 and served as the county's planning director for 15 years before becoming assistant county manager in 1999. He is credited with championing legislation governing the use and sale of federal land that led to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. More recently, his work supported the county's Growth Management Task Force.

The firm contacted him in recent months and, upon closer inspection, Holmes said he decided the job was "worth having a conversation."

His new job, which he characterized as a "high-level management position," will involve coordinating utilities for his new firm's master-planned communities, although a precise title has not been determined, Holmes said.

Cortez Masto is expected to focus her attention on assembling a campaign staff and raising the roughly $2 million she expects will be necessary for a successful run for office.

In a statement released Tuesday, Reilly said the changes are part of a "significant transition," during which time Social Service Director Darryl Martin will be promoted to replace Assistant County Manager Virginia Valentine, who will take Holmes' job.

"I'm confident that the team we're putting in place will perform exceptionally well," Reilly said. "Still, I have to say that Rick and Catherine's contributions to the county and to our management team have been extraordinary."

County officials are expected to launch a nationwide search for Martin's replacement in the coming days, Pappa said.

Assistant county managers oversee a portion of the county's $5 billion budget and more than 10,000 total employees, according to county statistics.

Holmes' and Masto's resignations come on the heels of Public Works Director Marty Manning's retirement July 15. Reilly is now in the midst of a nationwide search for his replacement.

Clark County Fire Chief Earl Greene is expected to retire early next year and will pass the reins to Batallion Chief Steven Smith, who is expected to transition into the position over the next six months, officials announced last week.