Water District action questioned

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, May 11, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

A potential candidate for the Clark County School Board said she was fired Wednesday by the Las Vegas Valley Water District because of her plans to seek public office.

A water district spokesman said he could not discuss it.

Gina Greisen, who said she intends to challenge School Board Vice President Sheila Moulton for the District G seat, began working at the water district five months ago, processing permit applications.

Greisen placed second to Moulton in the 2002 School Board election, with 42 percent of the vote. More recently she successfully pushed for a traffic safety committee to address issues in school zones.

Greisen said she informed her supervisor, Robert Baggs, last week that she intended to run for the School Board.

Greisen said Baggs encouraged her to abandon her plans, saying the position would take too much time away from her work at the Water District.

"I told him that was not going to happen, that if anything this was going to affect my time with my family, not my paid job," Greisen said.

On Wednesday Greisen said she asked Baggs for permission to come in early Friday so that she could use her lunch hour to file her candidate paperwork with the county elections office. Baggs again tried to dissuade her from running, Greisen said. Baggs then summoned a representative from the Water District's human resources department and she was fired, Greisen said.

"I walked out of his office and there was a big box waiting on my desk, and a 6-foot, 3-inch security guard escorted me out of the building," Greisen said. "I was totally humiliated."

Up until last week Baggs had expressed no displeasure with the quality of her work, Greisen said. Because she was a probationary employee with less than six months' tenure, she can be fired without cause and is not entitled to file a grievance.

J.C. Davis, spokesman for the Water District, said he could not comment on a personnel matter other than to confirm that Greisen had briefly been an employee.

The Water District has no policy related to employees serving public office, Davis said. "At the same time, outside activities cannot interfere with their job responsibilities," Davis said.

Greisen said Baggs told her his wife, Marsha, had been members of Moulton's parent action committee and that he was aware of the significant time commitment it takes to be a School Board trustee. Baggs also indicated his wife had been approached about serving on the district's Attendance Zone Advisory Committee, but turned down the request because of the time commitment, Greisen said.

Moulton declined Wednesday to comment on Greisen's firing.

School Board members, who oversee an operating budget of more than $1.8 billion, are paid $80 per meeting and typically meet two to four times per month, at night.

Richard Segerblom, a Las Vegas employment rights attorney who challenged School Board member Shirley Barber in 2004, said he was advising Greisen.

"It's an absolute, First Amendment slam-dunk issue," Segerblom said. "There are very few full-time political jobs in this state. The fact that one government entity would fire someone who wants to serve in what's essentially a volunteer position on the School Board is really criminal."