Defection in the Gibbons camp

By David McGrath Schwartz

Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009 | 2 a.m.

A key fundraiser and close ally of Gov. Jim Gibbons has shifted his support to the governor’s leading Republican rival, Brian Sandoval.

In the latest blow to Gibbons’ re-election campaign, Las Vegas businessman Monte Miller went public this week with his support for Sandoval, hosting a fundraiser for the former federal judge Tuesday.

“Brian has the best chance of being elected, everybody can see that in the polling,” Miller said. “I made a political decision to support Brian Sandoval.”

Miller said he has spoken with Gibbons on several occasions in the past few months and notified him a few weeks ago that he planned to host the Sandoval fundraiser, which raised $130,000 to $140,000.

Miller, who is CEO of Keystate Corporate Management, said he had tried to persuade the governor not to seek re-election. “I wish he wouldn’t ... and I’ve told him that,” he said.

Miller was among Gibbons’ earliest supporters, holding the first fundraiser for his 2006 campaign for governor.

Later he emerged as a member of the governor’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” an informal network of top advisers. Miller participated in meetings with the governor’s staff as they crafted the budget that Gibbons proposed in January, according to sources.

Robert Uithoven, Gibbons’ 2006 campaign manager who is not affiliated with any candidate for governor, said losing Miller’s support is a financial blow to Gibbons’ campaign.

“Monte Miller was one of the most significant supporters of Jim Gibbons in the 2006 campaign, both as a public advocate and a fundraiser,” Uithoven said. If the governor does run, he “will have significantly less money than he had available to him in 2006.”

But, Uithoven added, “The governor has the bully pulpit and that can help replace a lot of campaign funding that may not materialize.”

Miller is the latest to depart from Gibbons’ circle of political advisers, which in better times included experienced political hands such as Uithoven, Sig Rogich, and Jim Denton.

His current campaign manager, Robert Olmer, downplayed the significance of losing Miller’s support. “In politics, supporters ebb and flow. You never know where one person will stand from one week to the next, much less one year to the next,” he said.

Olmer said he did not know how much money Gibbons will raise by the time campaign finance reports are due Jan. 15.

“He’s been focused on doing a course correction for the state, creating jobs,” Olmer said. “The governor has not been focusing on anything that has to do with the campaign.”

In August, Gibbons said he anticipated “having $3 million by the end of the year.”

Olmer acknowledged the campaign won’t “come close to that figure. But I believe after the new year, he will raise considerable funds.”

Noting that Democrats control the state Senate and Assembly, Miller said it’s important for Republicans to keep the Governor’s Mansion. During its next regular session in 2011, the Legislature will redraw political districts and likely battle over the budget and taxes.

“It’s a reality that had to happen,” Miller said of his support for Sandoval. “I had this conversation with Gov. Gibbons, my friend. He knows I’m his friend, I’ve always been his friend.

“I look at the polling — the arithmetic of the campaign is very bad for Gov. Jim.”