Gibbons’ staff keeps many in capital in the dark

Sunday, April 8, 2007 | 7:26 a.m.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, vice chairwoman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, met almost daily with former Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn's staff when he was in office.

The Reno Democrat has almost no interaction with Gov. Jim Gibbons or his staff.

Leslie is hardly alone among legislators and lobbyists who say they are often in the dark about the Republican governor's intentions. Those sympathetic to Gibbons and his agenda are especially concerned, 100 days into his term, about whether his staff has the competence or relationships to shepherd his agenda through the Legislature.

Many expressed their opinions before Gibbons' staff took a major hit last week, losing his chief liaison to the Legislature smack in the middle of its session. Steve Robinson is pursuing work in the private sector after a long career in state government, according to a news release sent by the governor.

On top of that, Gibbons' chief of staff, Mike Dayton, was roughed up in print recently by a Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist, who said either Dayton lied to him or the governor had lied to Dayton. The issue was questions raised about Gibbons' relationship with defense contractors when he was in Congress.

To be sure, working for the governor right now must be grueling. He was elected with less than 50 percent of the vote and an uncertain agenda. He also had been out of state for a decade while serving in Congress.

The governor has had a number of embarrassing episodes early in his tenure, punctuated by an FBI investigation of his ties to defense contractors while in Congress. The national media have taken notice.

"It has to be distracting," said Greg Bortolin, who was Guinn's press secretary and now heads government relations for the Desert Research Institute. Given what the governor's office has gone through, he said, it deserves respect.

In an interview with the Sun, Dayton disputed that his staff is distracted. "I think we're holding up quite well. The governor has asked us to focus on the legislative agenda, and we believe in him, and know he's an honest man, and we believe in his ideas," he said.

Dayton did not assume his post under ideal circumstances. People in both political parties were disappointed when Robert Uithoven, Gibbons' campaign manager and congressional chief of staff, took his name out of consideration to lead the governor's team.

Moreover, some people close to Gibbons thought he shouldn't rely too much on his outgoing congressional staff, but should start with fresh talent.

But many in the congressional office were hired.

Dayton, who also was once chief of staff for Gibbons while he was in Congress, has borne the brunt of the criticism.

Even before Gibbons took office, Dayton angered some in the political establishment. He called Keith Munro, Guinn's chief of staff, for instance, and congratulated him on being named to the Gaming Control Board, though it was clear that Gibbons was going to replace Munro with his own pick, according to a source familiar with the conversation.

That move was interpreted as a sign that Dayton can't deliver bad news, which chiefs of staff must do nearly every day. Dayton confirmed that the conversation with Munro took place.

A few weeks into the session, chatter swirled around the Legislature about Dayton being replaced. That has subsided.

Dayton acknowledged that the beginning of his tenure has been challenging because the job is "front-loaded" - building staff, preparing a budget, readying the governor for inauguration and the State of the State address, all in the first few months.

Dayton is splitting his time between Carson City and Las Vegas, where he is based. That baffles many in the Legislature, who think he should be practically sleeping in the Legislative Building during the session. Dayton said the governor wants him in Las Vegas because that's where most of the population lives.

But as if to highlight the deep divisions between the governor and Assembly Democrats in particular, Ways and Means Chairman Morse Arberry Jr. , D-Las Vegas, sent Gibbons a letter last week describing the governor's budget as "totally out of whack." It shortchanges K-12 education, he said.

Dayton said the governor has lunch about every other week with legislative leaders, although someone familiar with those luncheons said they amount to more small talk than work and negotiation.

Billy Vassiliadis, a lobbyist and advertising executive who has worked closely with past governors, said staff members often must protect their governor by taking blows. By that definition, Dayton is doing his job.

Dayton touted quality hires Gibbons has made. Josh Hicks, the governor's counsel who's also heading up legislative relations, is seen as a rising star in state government. Still, he has no experience with the Legislature.

Dayton also pointed to Mendy Elliott, the governor's pick to head the Business and Industry Department. He called her an "accomplished businesswoman who's approaching her job with a private-sector perspective, and that's what the governor wanted."

Legislators of both parties, however, bristle at the sound of Elliott's name. During the protracted 2003 tax battle, she was a banking lobbyist and was seen as an impediment to a deal.

"I represented the interests of the company then," she said. "And now I represent the people of Nevada."

Elliott said she harbors no hard feelings, and she went out of her way to compliment Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley on a bill to clamp down on predatory lenders.

Other staff choices have observers scratching their heads.

Jodi Stephens, who's heading the governor's so-called empowerment education reform agenda, is pleasant and professional, but she was Gibbons' rural coordinator when he was in Congress and didn't specialize in education policy.

Melissa Subbotin, the governor's spokeswoman, said Gibbons turned to Stephens because she had been a teacher. In fact, she has taken graduate courses in education, but she had been only a student teacher and substitute teacher in Washoe County schools.

Hatice Gecol, Gibbons' energy adviser, prompted news stories over a couple of days when she announced the forming of a task force on global warming that would be neutral on whether it exists.

Despite the adversity, the staff soldiers on, Subbotin said.

"If you look outside the issues that the press has focused on, we continue to move forward with our legislative agenda. We've moved forward with reforming education, clamping down on sex offenders, ensuring we keep taxes low and working on a budget that's within our means."