Jon Ralston explains why the Clark County Commission will sorely miss Chip Maxfield, a soft-spoken yet effective leader

Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007 | 7:22 a.m.

If you were trying to name the seven members of the Clark County Commission, he's the one you'd probably forget.

He's steady, soft-spoken and reliable. He sort of drones on in meetings, too, doesn't he? In fact, Chip Maxfield is boring.

But as Maxfield prepares to serve out his last year-plus on the board, having informed friends Friday of his impending retirement, it's worth noting that for this elected body, boring is better.

As the G-Sting hangover still causes headaches for anyone in local elective office and the abrupt departures of Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Lynette Boggs still reverberate, Maxfield's low profile but high level of dedication will be missed. He hasn't simply been a poor man's Bruce Woodbury; he has been that rare politician who speaks softly and yet effectively.

"It's not like he left us the beltway," said one longtime county observer, referring to Woodbury. "But he was very engaged on issues. He added some balance and thoughtfulness."

Maxfield's departure will have a substantial effect on the board, completing a post-millennial purge that now leaves no commissioner but Woodbury (1981) with more than five years of experience. In fact, if you were to add up the tenures of the remaining commissioners, they come to less than half of Woodbury's quarter-century.

The loss of Maxfield also has the potential to turn a remarkably labor-friendly board even more so, with Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown, a Democrat, the early favorite to replace the incumbent. The Republicans will have plenty of time to find a candidate in this competitive district, but Brown has the support, experience and, soon, I would guess, the money. By the end of 2008, Woodbury could well be the only Republican on the commission, which surely will cause a chill in chamberville.

So why isn't Maxfield running? The answer may be boring but believable.

Some insiders surely believe that Maxfield was not relishing a nasty race against Brown, which would have divided many houses. That overblown issue of right turns by planes taking off from McCarran might have been cutting . And because of G-Sting, Boggs' indictment and Atkison Gates' mysterious resignation, guilt by association is potent, too. Just ask Myrna Williams, who was associated by Chris Giunchigliani with the guilty G-Stingers, and whose title now starts with "former."

But even if that played into the calculus of Maxfield's decision, I don't think it was the deciding factor. This is a case where personal considerations played a large role, as they do many times, but we cynical Fourth Estaters won't even consider such a boring suggestion.

Maxfield's wife, Kathey, clearly caught the political bug early on - or at least tried to accept the symptoms of the disease. But, like so many political spouses, her immune system collapsed a few years in and she wanted her husband out of the jungle.

Maxfield says it was a decision he agonized over for six months. "It was a hard thing to walk away from," he said.

Even more difficult, he added, because of the blackened image of the commission. "I hope that people view me as honest and reliable," Maxfield said. "Part of the reason I thought I should continue to do it was to help maintain good government."

With almost anyone else, I would follow that remark with a sarcastic, even snide riposte. But with Maxfield, I believe it. Boring, but sincere.

Maxfield will be forever pilloried for being too close to developers and for having conflicts because he has been enmeshed in that world for so long. But even Chairman Rory Reid, in a classy statement he issued Friday, acknowledged that Maxfield used his knowledge to help residents. Said Reid: "The comprehensive changes to the county planning process have always involved his insights."

Indeed, Maxfield is most proud of his preservation program in the northwest and interlocal agreements he achieved with Las Vegas (ironically with Brown's help). Some surely don't think the area is very stable, but considering what it was when he was elected seven years ago, it's night and day. Boring stuff. But important.

Many probably have forgotten - or are not aware - how close Maxfield came to not even being on the commission. That commission race of 2000 was history-changing. Maxfield won by only 546 votes over Lois Tarkanian, who was favored to win. But the real history came in the primary when Maxfield crushed perhaps the least boring and most ridiculed member in commission history and the man who set G-Sting in motion: Lance Malone.

Yes, indeed. Boring was better.