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Monday, March 2, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun archives
- The Kats Report blog: Rogers says issues with Gibbons ‘over,’ riffs on Obama (2-25-09)
- Gov. Gibbons strikes back — with a podcast (2-11-09)
- Rogers highlights ways universities have saved money (2-9-09)
- As budget cuts loom, UNLV lacks requested program rankings (2-8-09)
- UNLV profs await cuts with cautious optimism (2-8-09)
Sun Archives
War of Words
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Gag Order?
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Sniping between the chancellor of Nevada’s public higher education system and Gov. Jim Gibbons over budget cuts reached a crescendo as the chancellor labeled Gibbons a “greedy, uninterested, unengaged human being” in a Feb. 22 opinion piece in Carson City’s Nevada Appeal.
The comments mirrored ones Chancellor Jim Rogers, who has supported raising taxes to help fund education, has been making since 2008. So why did his bosses step in now to reprimand him in writing when they had stayed silent in public on so many other occasions?
Michael Wixom, chairman of the higher education system’s Board of Regents, said he and Vice Chairman Jason Geddes felt compelled to admonish Rogers because “the nature and the tone had gotten it to a place where it was getting us off-message ... Our message is, we have a budget problem we need to solve, and we need to talk. The governor has a role to play.”
“The nature of what Jim said was significantly different from what he said before,” Wixom added. “What Jim said before was general.”
As Geddes explained, Rogers “has very rarely ever attacked anybody personally and called into question their character, and to me, that’s where this one crossed over.”
The Appeal piece, however, was not the first time Rogers had insulted the governor, who opposes raising taxes, or other people who disagreed with the chancellor’s views.
In a July 2008 memo Rogers sent to recipients including the media and state legislators, the chancellor wrote, “The governor asserts that people come up to him on the street and thank him for not considering raising taxes. I would suggest that those people, along with many other Nevadans, are those who care nothing about the state, its future, or anything other than their own pocketbook.”
The same month, Rogers opened another public memo by accusing Gibbons of attempting to “muzzle” him via the governor’s adviser Monte Miller, who had complained to several regents about Rogers’ writings.
In November, in public comments printed in the Sun, Rogers called former state Sen. Bob Beers and then-Regent Bret Whipple, both fiscal conservatives who had butted heads with Rogers, “negative” and “very destructive” people.
•••
Regent Ron Knecht, who has disagreed with Rogers on tax policy and other issues, thinks his colleagues on the board did not go far enough in censuring the chancellor.
Wixom and Geddes sent a message to the governor last week stating they had informed Rogers that they were committed to keeping the higher education system’s public discourse “civil and constructive.”
The board chairman and vice chairman then told Rogers in a letter that his statements were “unauthorized and inappropriate.” The note said Rogers had agreed to refrain from making “personal public comments” concerning Gibbons for the duration of Rogers’ term as chancellor, which ends this summer.
In an interview Thursday, Knecht said Rogers should apologize to Gibbons and resign.
Regarding the potential of the board asking Rogers to step down, Wixom said, “I don’t think that’s on the table.”
•••
Increasing stipends for graduate students who teach and conduct research is a top priority at UNLV.
This year, however, because of budget cuts, the university is suspending a graduate assistantship program that supported 12 doctoral students during the summer last year.
The Graduate Research Training assistantship gave students $6,000 for three months of work.
“The only reason it was cancelled this year was because of the budget uncertainty,” said Kate Hausbeck, senior associate dean of UNLV’s graduate college.
Though the number of students the program helped each year was small, it served an important purpose, Hausbeck said.
Graduate assistants who work for the university during the school year are often left without funding in summer. The Graduate Research Training assistantship provided students with the opportunity to focus year-round on their research.
Rogers is now on the lunatic fringe because he has some common sense, is trying to return some sense of sanity to government and speaks plainly. God forbid!
In my opinion, thank goodness Rogers is gone and now they can get to work on addressing the budget problem.
Rogers isn't gone. He will serve out his term (until June). Unfortunately, the Regents have a fundamental misunderstanding about what's going on. The Governor has no role to play in this. He's irrelevant, has been removed from the equation and is not being included on any of the talks about the budget.
The budget Gibbons did propose? Universally panned and thrown out the window, even by those in his own party. Gibbons has no place in the discussions about Nevada's future.
Rogers burns bridges and does not build them.
Rogers is an extreme partisan that worked very hard to defeat Republicans. Surely, the Regents must know that does not help them in Carson City.
He has done a great disservice to the Regents.
The Regents have finally realized the great harm that Rogers has done.
Unlike, people like theBS who is clueless on the powers of the governer, the Regents know that the governor is relevant especially when it deals to "stimulus" funds.
Rogers is the one who should be kept in a locked closet somewhere until his retirement from his position. The Regents only hope that day will come sooner rather than later.
The Regents have learned a very valuable lesson. They no longer should appoint or hire people that have anger issues and fly off their rocks at the drop of the hat. He has a track record of strange behavior even before this bizarre time period. Too bad, they did not check into those stories before they appointed him.
Hopefully, they will not replace him with another hothead partisan.
Gibbons is a known liar, whose own office can't seem to get its own facts straight.
Gibbons is not relevant to the budget discussions, either. jfNance32 apparently isn't aware that neither senate nor assembly republicans are willing to stick up for Gibbons' boneheaded budget.
The stimulus funds are paid out by the federal government, and the governor doesn't have the right to spend them however he sees fit, he has to follow the law. He's going to be a rubberstamp, anyone who this otherwise is a fool.
Unlike people like jfNance32, who cannot even spell "Governor" correctly, the rest of us, even most republicans, understand that Jim Gibbons is irrelevant. His approval numbers have tanked and he is a laughingstock.
Jim Gibbons' diehard supporters like jfNance32 have much to learn.
"He's going to be a rubberstamp, anyone who this otherwise is a fool."
I guess you are calling the Regents fools because they have said that Gibbons has some authority on how "stimulus" funds will be spent in regard to higher ed.
Perhaps, you need to look into the mirror and apply that title to yourself.
Just a FYI, if you are going to be grammar queen then do not write stuff like this:
"He's going to be a rubberstamp, anyone who this otherwise is a fool."
So you're going to criticize me for criticizing your grammar... and then criticize my grammar?
Hypocrite.
And no, Gibbons has no power when it comes to the budget. He is also required to spend that stimulus money in a way that is federally mandated. Do you understand that? I guess not.
I guess you need to email the Regents and educate them on their lack of your understanding on how the world works.
Surely, you must know more than them on how the "stimulus" funds work in regard to Gibbons authority.
Do you need their email's addresses?
Funny, you keep saying that Gibbons has some sort of magical complete authority on how to spend the funds, but you haven't negated my argument yet.
I'll wait.
First, unlike you, I defer to the experts, like the Regents, and their understanding on the how "stimulus" funds will be get spent on higher ed.
They are the ones making claims in public that Gibbons has some authority on how those funds will be spent and they list that as one of reasons why they do not what that blow hard Rogers burning the bridge to the governor.
So if you want somebody to negated your argument which probably comes from your behind then you need to argue with the Regents and not me.
"Wixom said on "Face to Face" on Thursday that the regents still have to deal with the governor's authority to apportion stimulus money."
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb...
And that authority falls under federal mandates. Don't you get it? Gibbons' authority is dependent on following federal mandates.
Duh.
Meanwhile, Gibbons just gave a public speech where he repeatedly insulted Rogers, even after Rogers issued an apology. Gibbons can't let it go.
If anyone is partisan here, it is Gibbons and his refusal to accept an apology. Gibbons has said that he refuses to work with Rogers.
The people of the state of Nevada deserve someone who won't cry to their mommy anytime someone has harsh criticism for them. We deserve better than Gibbons.
Thanks for admitting that federal law gives Gibbons some authority on how some "stimulus" funds will be spent in the state.
Hopefully, now you understand why the Regents spanked Rogers butt which they should have had the guts to do a long time ago.
Waging war is not a good way to build bridges.
The Regents needs bridge builders and not extreme partisan warriors.
So you will criticize Rogers for something you won't criticize Gibbons for?
What were you saying about partisan again?
And sad spin on what I said, it's obvious you just don't get it. Gibbons has no money unless he spends it in a way that is federally mandated. The real power is from the federal mandates. He can't take, say, $100 million from money earmarked for higher ed and spend it elsewhere.
In the end, the governor is irrelevant.
He will get some decision making authority on when, where and how it gets spent.
For example, he probably has the authority to shift funds to different parts of the state like in favoring the northern part of the state over the southern part of the state.
Who is the irrelvant one now?
I think it is Rogers who did not even show up in Carson City in front of his pals in the legislature and got a public spanking by this bosses, the Regents.
Why don't you go to Carson City and join in with Rogers and give Gibbons the big finger? Tell him that you could care less if the southern schools get short-changed in "stimulus" funds.
Barbara Buckley: "The money that is given to the State of Nevada will be distributed and overseen by the Nevada Legislature."
"Buckley says hearings at the state level have already started on this bill, with discussions on what strings might be attached. Once the legislative session ends, a special committee will then take over, "A bipartisan committee of both house members and senate members will continue to oversee the administration of the stimulus money to ensure accountability."
Like I said, Gibbons is irrelevant.
I think that jfnance is right. I'd even go as far to say that he is relevant! Pissing Gibbons off is not the way to go if you want something from him.
"The only reason it was canceled this year was because of the budget uncertainty." Are you kidding me! Uncertainty? Does this mean that the University has the money, they just don't want to support its students? I have an idea on how to save millions, close the graduate college. What do they do beyond attack the very students they are suppose to help?
Nance I doubt that you will find anywhere that the Regents (other than Knecht) said that the Governor has any discretion on how any money is allocated of ARRA (the formal name of the stimulus bill). First it would violate the state constitution and second it would violate Title XIV of ARRA. While ARRA does, under Title XIV pay the stabilization funds to the Govenor, he is absolutely obligated to use those funds pursuant to a formula in the statute. Even in contexts other than ARRA, while the Governor can recommend a budget and lobby for its passage, he does not have discretion on how much money is allocated to each department within the State's government. The legislature does that. His only discretion (and the use of that word with this governor is oxymoronic) is within each line item in the budget.
Had you gone to high school you'd have remembered something called 'separation of powers', where the laws are made by the legislature!
Nance, what Regent Chair Wixom actually said is "the governor has a large role to play". That role, under ARRA is his right to not apply for stimulus funds. While I do not have a great deal of respect for Gibbons' political savvy, I doubt he would ever risk the consequences of passing on those funds. But he has absolutely no discretion on how those funds are spend.
This is Federal money which has Federal rules for who, how and when the money will get spent.
Perhaps, you have studied Federalism you would know that Federal law has supremacy over state law.
If Federal government wants to it can empower governors to have more control over money then it can do so.
For example, here is an article in Education Weekly that talks about how the "stimulus" bill empowers governors to have more control over the stimulus education funds.
http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=...
In Utah news, they are talking about the same thing except they have the reverse...a Democratic governor and a Republican legislature.
"While Utah GOP legislators may not like President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan, they are a little peeved that they don't get to spend all of Utah's $1.5 billion share themselves.
It turns out that the congressional Democrats' huge spending bill carves out hundreds of millions of dollars for the states' 50 governors to spend."
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/conte...
Lastly it was not Knecht but Regents Chairman Michael Wixom who...."Wixom said on "Face to Face" on Thursday that the regents still have to deal with the governor's authority to apportion stimulus money."
But, of course, you are much smarter than the Regents Chairman. Perhaps you can give him a lesson in government.