Columnist Jeff German: Picking a taxicab chief

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005 | 7:42 a.m.

Even the most experienced creative writer would have trouble making up the stories oozing out of the Nevada Taxicab Authority these days.

The five-member board of political appointees that oversees the Taxicab Authority has scheduled a special public meeting Monday to interview the 11 applicants looking to become the agency's next administrator.

But the board's chairman, Richard Land, won't be asking any questions. Instead he'll be answering them as one of the 11 candidates.

Land, a retired executive with Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Co., the contractor that ran Nevada Test Site, quietly resigned Sept. 27 after 3 1/2 years on the part-time board.

In his resignation letter to Gov. Kenny Guinn, he said: "My resume is being submitted tomorrow for the position of Taxicab Authority administrator."

Land is hoping to succeed Yvette Moore, who resigned for "family reasons" in mid-August.

Her departure came after Sheriff Bill Young had gone to her higher-ups complaining that she was trying to usurp the police department's authority to investigate crimes against cabbies. Her efforts were chronicled through her own memos in a July 29 column here.

This leadership vacuum, by no surprise, comes at a critical time for taxicab regulators.

They are rudderless as they struggle to come up with a regulation requiring cameras in taxicabs that will protect not only the drivers but also the riding public's right to privacy.

Guinn, meanwhile, doesn't seem to be in a hurry to find a fifth board member.

The governor's spokesman, Steve George, says applications will be accepted over the next couple of weeks.

Land and the rest of the board have been criticized for being too easily influenced by some of the larger cab companies, which seem more concerned about wanting to use cameras to spy on their drivers than protect them.

Why Land would even want the administrator's job is hard to understand. He didn't return my phone call. Maybe he's just a glutton for punishment who wants to see what it's like be on the other side of a clueless public board.

The board will recommend three applicants to Sydney Wickliffe, director of the state's Business and Industry Department. Wickliffe will make the appointement.

Land is probably a shoo-in to make the final cut.

We know that he has ingratiated himself with at least one of his former colleagues, Vice Chairman Kathryn Werner, who'll be gaveling the meeting Monday.

In his resignation letter to the governor, Land recommended that Werner succeed him as chairman.

Still, Land has some stiff competition, according to the resumes of the applicants.

Several longtime Taxicab Authority employees, including Acting Administrator Kenneth Mangum and veteran supervisor Joseph Dahlia, are among the candidates.

Some qualified members of the business community and other public servants also have applied.

But if we want to know who really has the inside track here, we probably should poll the influential cab companies.

They seem to be calling the shots at the Taxicab Authority these days.