Columnist Jeff German: Guinn pushes to undercut Gibbons

Friday, June 3, 2005 | 4:51 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

June 4-5, 2005

Gov. Kenny Guinn is finally letting out the worst-kept secret in Carson City.

He's searching for a candidate to challenge his party's front-runner in the race to succeed him next year.

Officially Guinn is saying he'll support whoever the Republicans nominate.

But privately he's working to make sure it will be anybody but Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., the fiscal conservative who recently plagiarized a speech that attacked liberals. Guinn sees Gibbons as a loose cannon who is too far to the right.

With the help of other top Republicans who share Guinn's belief that Gibbons would be a disaster as governor, Guinn has been recruiting candidates behind the scenes.

This is occurring even though Guinn's own top political adviser, Sig Rogich, is backing Gibbons, who's still strong in the polls.

It's a risky strategy for the governor that could end up creating a bitter primary fight for Republicans and hurt their chances in the general election.

Democrats would welcome such a dogfight. They're bracing for their own nasty primary between Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, who can't stop sniping at each other this legislative session.

But the push to undermine Gibbons is a risk that Guinn long ago concluded was worth taking.

I'm told Guinn tried to persuade Harrah's Entertainment Chairman Phil Satre weeks ago to run on the Republican ticket, but Satre declined.

Guinn, however, has had better luck with recently named university system Chancellor Jim Rogers who, Guinn aides say, has been receptive to the idea of running for governor.

What Guinn likes about Rogers, a wealthy media mogul, is that he's a moderate Republican businessman like himself -- and could finance his own campaign. Rogers is bright, dynamic and, of course, media savvy.

In his search for a suitable successor, Guinn has discounted the other Republican in the race, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt.

Guinn is fond of Hunt, but it has become obvious that her candidacy isn't catching on. She trails Gibbons badly in the polls.

Last week, when interviewed on a Reno television show, the governor blurted out the names of Rogers and Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, a former lieutenant governor, as possible candidates. Both men later did not rule out potential bids.

The Reno television appearance moved Guinn a step closer to coming out of the closet in his anybody-but-Gibbons push.

In a Las Vegas television interview that aired May 26 on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," Guinn said he was "scared to death" that his successor might come in with an attitude that the state doesn't need any more money.

Such a "populist philosophy will hurt this state for years to come," Guinn told Ralston.

Guinn refused to say on the show and afterwards if he was referring to Gibbons.

But Gibbons is the only candidate in the race who has been a staunch opponent of raising taxes, even in the face of a budget deficit. And he's the only one who campaigned for a constitutional amendment that requires the Legislature to get a two-thirds vote to pass any new tax.

Guinn and Gibbons haven't exactly had a great relationship over the years.

As a private citizen, Guinn endorsed former Gov. Bob Miller, a Democrat, in 1994 over Gibbons in the governor's race, and Gibbons wasn't very kind to Guinn when he addressed the Legislature in 2003.

Gibbons panned the governor's $1 billion tax plan to bail the state out of its $704 million budget shortfall in the presence of the governor.

Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin acknowledges that the governor still harbors ill feelings.

"The governor was disappointed that the congressman came to Carson City and criticized his handling of the budget," Bortolin says.

That disappointment, it seems, has turned into something much more.