Columnist Jeff German: Guinn’s critics silenced by results

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005 | 8:56 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

Gov. Kenny Guinn admits that when Time magazine began evaluating his administration some months ago, the results could have gone either way.

But now that Time has named him one of "America's five best governors," he'll gladly accept accolades.

"I feel pretty good," Guinn says. "I didn't know until it came out Sunday how it was going to go."

Time credited the Republican governor, once "widely viewed as the handpicked candidate of the state's casinos," for having the courage to buck his own party in 2003 and push for the largest tax increase ($830 million) in Nevada history.

It was a gamble -- as Nevada faced record budget deficits in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks -- that Time and political observers here say helped ensure the long-term stability of the state.

"I was out there pretty much by myself," Guinn says. "But I know I was doing the right thing for Nevada."

The praise from Time has to gall Las Vegas Review-Journal Editor Tom Mitchell and the libertarian loonies on his editorial board, who hammered Guinn for months over the path he chose to keep the state's economy on an even keel.

Whether Guinn was as politically courageous as Time made him out to be remains to be seen. His tax push came at the beginning of his second and final term in office, and it was supported behind the scenes by many of the state's more responsible political and business power brokers.

But one thing the recognition does do is give us confirmation that Guinn -- not the Review-Journal -- had a better handle on the state's fiscal condition.

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The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority isn't alone in throwing money at high-priced lawyers to straighten out the legal mess over "What happens here, stays here."

R&R Partners, the LVCVA's longtime advertising agency, appears to be in the process of dumping its Reno trademark lawyer, Kirstin Jahn, a key participant in this mess.

Records on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that R&R Partners recently hired Kevin J. Byrne of Schiff Hardin, Chicago's oldest law firm, as its new counsel of record in a trademark case involving the valuable advertising slogan.

And there's talk that Byrne's role as R&R's lawyer is likely to expand.

This could be a hard fall for Jahn, who started out representing both R&R and the LVCVA until things turned sour over the $1 sale to R&R of "What happens here, stays here."

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District Attorney David Roger is experiencing the power of incumbency.

At his high-powered campaign fundraiser Thursday night at the Bellagio, Roger collected $140,000.

That's more than double what he took in at his initial political reception the first time he ran for office four years ago.

Among the 120 or so guests who paid big money to attend Roger's campaign kickoff were Dave Kallas, executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, and Kara Kelley, president of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Kallas and Kelley are on opposite sides of a push by the cops to get the pay raises they deserve.

And Roger, the county's chief legal adviser, is caught in the middle.

He's obligated to defend the county against a PPA lawsuit accusing the county of derailing contract talks between the officers and the Metro Police Department.

But when it comes to soliciting campaign contributions, Roger plays no favorites.