Defending tourism director pick, Gibbons takes shots at Krolicki

By David McGrath Schwartz, Richard N. Velotta

Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Gov. Jim Gibbons did not go quietly into this new year.

In a statement issued New Year’s Eve, he made the following points:

• The proposed director of the Tourism Commission, whom Gibbons tried to appoint on Christmas Eve without going through the process specified by law, got his application in on time.

• That applicant, Kirk Montero, is qualified and “of Latino heritage.”

• The Tourism Commission members, who declined to approve the appointment of Montero, didn’t attend all the meetings they should have during a trip to China on state business.

• And looking to Asia to boost Nevada tourism is a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Friday brought another, similar missive from the governor.

In it, he said his fellow Republican, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, while on the China trip with the Tourism Commission “spent his time on pursuits unrelated to promoting tourism in Nevada, such as sightseeing and shopping and did not attend scheduled meetings.”

Last year was a rocky one for the governor, both professionally and privately. So it might be fitting that Gibbons ended 2008 fanning the controversy over his latest misstep.

Earlier in the week, Gibbons seemed to back off the appointment of Montero, an airline manager in Reno. According to statements by his spokesman, he seemed to accept that he did not have legal authority to appoint Montero, who is a friend of a close adviser to Gibbons.

Asked what Gibbons is thinking, Eric Herzik, a political science professor at University of Nevada, Reno, and a Republican, admitted, “I don’t have a good answer. I’m trying to understand Jim Gibbons’ appointment philosophy, and it defies any traditional explanation.”

David Damore, a UNLV political science professor and Democrat, described the news releases as “bizarre.”

“With all the problems going on in the state, this is how he’s going to assert himself as a strong governor?” Damore said.

And that was before the Friday night news release.

In it, Gibbons said the Tourism Commission should focus more on attracting tourists who live closer to Nevada. “Further, I feel ashamed at how Kirk Montero, a respected citizen of our state, has had his name dragged through the mud because Krolicki now has stated that Montero’s application ... was not sent to the correct department, even after my deputy chief of staff is on record as hand delivering his application to the lieutenant governor’s office prior to the deadline,” Gibbons said, “Mr. Montero is a very decent, intelligent citizen who deserves a hell of a lot more respect than what he has gotten from Mr. Krolicki.”

Republicans, in particular, are cringing. Krolicki, after all, is under indictment on charges that he improperly spent money while the state’s elected treasurer.

This, perhaps inevitably, has led to Krolicki firing back.

“I never missed any part of a meeting I was scheduled to attend,” Krolicki said of the China trip. He was in China for seven days and had an “extensive, somewhat grueling itinerary.”

Krolicki said Gibbons wanted Montero to take the director’s job even before it was vacated by Tim Maland and that, in part, led to Maland’s departure.

“Pressure was being applied to make that change,” Krolicki said.

Krolicki also disputed Gibbons’ contention that Montero’s resume was hand-delivered to his office before the deadline, saying if it had come in, it would have been directed to the state’s Tourism Office, “where 67 other applicants sent their applications.”

Gibbons was unavailable for comment. Dan Burns, the governor’s spokesman, said Gibbons felt so strongly about the matter because the truth was at stake.

“The governor believes what’s right is right, and what’s the truth is the truth,” he said. “When they say he didn’t put in his application on time, he believes that to be false. His application was taken to the lieutenant governor’s office.”

Krolicki said the Tourism Commission had the option of reopening the hiring process to include Montero’s application, but it would have also had to reopen it to all applicants — a process that would further delay an appointment. The commission unanimously voted on Monday to press ahead with the existing process.

As for Montero, he’s not sure where that leaves him.

On Friday, he said, “Am I still the anointed guy? I don’t know.”

He said he still wants the job, but “if they tell me to move on, I will. I’m curious as you are as to what the next move is.”

David McGrath Schwartz reported from Carson City.