Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.
Like most swearing-in ceremonies, the first meeting to include newly elected Clark County Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Susan Brager consisted mostly of formalities - the welcome-to-the-group speeches from incumbents and the thank-you-to-my-family-and-supporters remarks from the rookies.
But there were exceptions at Tuesday's meeting - telegraphing what may be in store for the next two years.
They included Commissioner Rory Reid's reappointment as chairman, Giunchigliani's lone vote against a pay boost for the county airport boss and Brager's photo shoot with a local labor leader prior to her posing with her extended family.
Johnnie Rawlinson, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge, swore in Reid, Brager and Giunchigliani as cameras snapped wildly.
Then the commission took a break for photo ops.
They brought into clear focus labor's newfound influence on the panel. Local unions played big roles in the November election, and labor leaders are hoping the help they lent to Giunchigliani and Brager pays dividends.
The Service Employees International Union Local 1107, which represents county workers and is in the midst of negotiating a new contract with county management, seemed at times as close to the two new commissioners as family.
Giunchigliani slid in next to a union member clad in a purple SEIU T-shirt that matched almost exactly the purple of Giunchigliani's blazer - a mere coincidence, the former assemblywoman said.
Brager, meanwhile, put her arm around Jane McAlevey, the SEIU's executive director, as camera flashes lit up the commission chambers.
Amid the fanfare, it seemed unlikely that this board would repeat its move last year, when commissioners voted to remove labor-friendly Commissioner Tom Collins from the Metro Police Fiscal Affairs Committee to block a salary increase in a proposed police union contract.
When commissioners got down to business, they selected Reid - who easily won re-election in November - for another two-year stint as chairman. The chairman runs the commission's meetings and usually serves as its public face.
In recent times, the position has rotated every other year, but Reid sought and received an encore performance - a move some suspect might be motivated by ambition for higher office. Reid, son of incoming U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has said he is concentrating on his role as commissioner for the time being, but many are expecting a statewide or congressional run from Reid before his term is up.
The commission operated for the rest of the meeting much like it has for two years - more or less harmoniously with no squabbling and consistent, unanimous votes.
But Giunchigliani confirmed on her first day in office the image she painted of herself during the campaign, including a campaign photograph of herself standing cross-armed in front of a hypothetical skyscraper development saying she wouldn't allow it in voters' neighborhoods if she wouldn't want it in her own. That attitude surfaced when she cast the sole dissenting vote on an otherwise unanimous approval of a new salary package for Randy Walker, who runs McCarran International Airport and other county-owned aviation facilities.
Walker announced his resignation in November, sparking concerns from airlines and some of the state's biggest power brokers in the gaming and resort industries.
After hearing from those interests, County Manager Virginia Valentine asked commissioners to approve a $58,000 annual increase for Walker, bringing his base salary to $225,000. The contract also provides Walker with an opportunity to receive a 20 percent bonus each year.
After the meeting, Giunchigliani said she voted against his contract because she felt the selection process should have been open to other candidates.
The vote could be a portent for regular head butting - a refreshing return of independent thinking or a sad flashback to a less productive time, depending on who you ask.
However, there is one member with whom Giunchigliani is not likely to butt heads often. Both she and Collins are big-time labor supporters, and they share a political consultant in Giunchigliani's husband, Gary Gray, who was on hand for Tuesday's meeting.
In a break with tradition, Collins retained his position at the end of the commission bench, typically reserved for the newest member. Instead, Giunchigliani sits a seat closer to the center than Collins. The reason? Access to backroom food goodies, the 270-pound former rodeo cowboy said.
Still, Collins and Giunchigliani occupy the far-end of one wing of the commission dais. Whether that will become figurative as well remains to be seen.
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