LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY

Monday, May 14, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

Clark County Commissioners Rory Reid, Bruce Woodbury and Chip Maxfield almost always vote together, even on controversial issues.

But take politics to the national level and the differences glow brightly.

The commission's three most veteran members each support different presidential candidates.

Reid is Nevada campaign chairman for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Woodbury is one of several Nevada campaign chairmen for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. And Maxfield co-chairs former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's state finance committee.

Perhaps it's testimony to the bipartisan nature of the County Commission, where local issues rarely are decided by ideological differences that tend to surface on the national stage.

Commissioners are good grabs for presidential hopefuls, adding local validity to a candidate's national run and helping raise campaign cash.

Commissioner Tom Collins is unlikely to endorse a candidate because he co-chairs the Democrats' caucus efforts here.

The three other commissioners - Chris Giunchigliani, Susan Brager and Lawrence Weekly - are relatively new to the board and haven't officially endorsed a presidential candidate.

All three are Democrats, though, and it wouldn't be surprising if fellow Democrat Reid pushes them to join the Clinton camp.

Clark County does not plan to pay for District Judge Elizabeth Halverson's use of private bodyguards, which got her banned from the Regional Justice Center during a strange day of events Thursday.

Halverson brought her own bodyguards into the courthouse because she felt the temporary bailiffs assigned to her had not been adequately protecting her since the bailiff she hired in January had been reassigned in April, court officials said.

At least one of the private guards was reportedly armed with a retractable metal rod, even though only law enforcement officials are allowed to have weapons in the courthouse.

Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle banned Halverson from the courthouse later in the day, saying her actions constituted a breach of courthouse security.

Clark County pays for clerks, bailiffs and other support personnel for district judges, who are state employees.

"We are staying out of it," Assistant County Manager Liz Quillin said. "My only concern was who is going to pay those private security guards."

It's unclear whether Halverson paid for the guards or expects the county to pick up the tab.

"As far as I am concerned, it is not an authorized expense," Quillin said.

Halverson did not return phone calls from the Sun.

University Medical Center officials are asking county commissioners to sign off on changes to a controversial contract for hospitalist services.

The changes would allow a start date of about one month later than originally proposed and permit the company that won the contract to reduce the services provided. In exchange, UMC would pay the firm $1.67 million a year, $120,000 less than in the original contract.

Hospitalists are internal medicine doctors who augment the existing staff and contracted physicians at UMC.

The deal with Hospitalist Medicine Physicians garnered controversy when approved in December because the firm employed no local doctors at the time, creating concerns about whether it could ramp up operations in a reasonable time.

Lacy Thomas, then-CEO of UMC, said the firm would be ready for the job by early June, though no firm start date was written into the contract.

The changes proposed by hospital administrators would set a firm start date of July 1.