Editorial: A Capitol offense

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006 | 7:07 a.m.

After a successful campaign for lieutenant governor, outgoing state Treasurer Brian Krolicki is on a foolish campaign to retain his current office.

Not the job itself, but the actual office in the Capitol Building in Carson City.

The Republican has sat in his first-floor office for eight years and he figures there is no need to change anything except the sign outside the door. Treasurer-elect Kate Marshall, a Democrat, begs to differ, but at least she is being mature, focusing on preparing for her job, not her office.

"It's a ridiculous thing," she told the Las Vegas Sun's Cy Ryan. "The seating charts are not my focus."

Krolicki has tried to argue that it's best to be upstairs as treasurer because that's where many of the workers are, yet he seemed to be able to function just fine for eight years on the first floor while fellow Republican Lorraine Hunt sat upstairs.

Apparently the second-floor office, the one marked lieutenant governor, and the one in the Legislature Building don't work for him.

Maybe it's office envy. Being on the first floor of the Capitol Building, closer to the governor's office, has more cachet than being kicked upstairs, because in this case, being kicked upstairs means a less visible office at the top of the stairs. But the top-floor office seems to suit the job perfectly.

Instead of the very full-time job of treasurer, managing the state's money, Krolicki will have a relaxed, part-time position, sitting on a handful of commissions and presiding over the Nevada Senate every other year for the 120-day legislative session. The only other duty is to act as governor if the governor travels out of state.

Sounds like he could do most of that from a table at Starbucks, but Krolicki seems to be eyeing his next political move and wants the prestige of sitting on the first floor.

By insisting on that spot he is behaving like a child, and that reflects poorly on him, no matter what office he is in.