Parraguirres make most of their time together

By Mark Hansel

Friday, May 1, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Life was a lot different for Leslie and Ron Parraguirre six years ago.

Leslie, owner of the Las Vegas-based design firm Colours, was reaping the benefits of working in a city that was experiencing unprecedented growth. Ron was an Eighth Judicial District Court judge, having been appointed by then-Gov. Kenny Guinn in 1999.

The couple had a hectic, but manageable life with two daughters. Jilli was in school in Las Vegas, and Cali had just started college in Reno.

Then Ron decided to run for the Nevada Supreme Court and all of a sudden a busy life turned into a frenzied, statewide journey to increase name recognition and solicit votes.

Rather than focus on the major population centers and leave the family at home, Ron brought them with him on a statewide campaign trek.

“I saw it as a great opportunity, especially for Jilli,” Ron said. “She saw every tiny hamlet in this state.”

The family rented a motor home and the group, which also included Ron’s dad and Leslie’s mom, set out to win an election.

“I like the campaign process,” Ron said. “You could probably stay where the population bases are and I’m sure do pretty well, but you’ve got an obligation as a statewide candidate to talk to all of those folks. They all have different views.”

He soon found himself in remote parts of the state talking to guys such as Rock Shop Bob of Goldfield.

“He was the biggest, roughest-looking guy I had ever seen at about 6-foot-6 and 380 pounds with a great big beard,” Parraguirre said. “He wasn’t too warm and fuzzy at first, and he didn’t like politicians.”

Ron wanted to put a campaign sign on Rock Shop’s fence, which had a prominent location in the town of about 450 people, but Bob insisted on having a conversation first.

After talking for what seemed like hours with little success, the candidate started talking about hunting chukar, a local game bird, and Bob’s eyes lit up. Confident that he had struck a chord with Bob, Ron asked again if he could put up the sign, to which Bob replied, “It’s OK with me. There’s just one problem — it ain’t my fence.”

“After that, I learned to ask whose fence it was before I started campaigning,” Ron said, laughing.

Ron is a fourth-generation Nevadan and second-generation judge. His father, Paul, was a Fifth Judicial District Court judge.

After Ron graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1985, he spent some time in Washington, working for then-Sen. Paul Laxalt. He later became counsel to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Law.

“It was an incredible time to be in Washington,” Ron said. “Paul Laxalt was Ronald Reagan’s best friend and adviser, so it was a great time to be there in that situation.”

He returned to Las Vegas in 1987 to work in the family law practice when his uncle, his father’s law partner, died after suffering a heart attack in the courthouse.

“My father was pretty devastated when that happened,” Ron said. “He called and asked if I would come back and get the office pulled together. I anticipated going back to Washington, but I never did.”

While her husband was busy working on his law career, Leslie was making a name for herself in interior design.

Born and raised in Las Vegas, she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. She spent a few years with a nationally recognized design firm and was promoted to oversee operations for the firm’s Miami facility before returning to Las Vegas.

In 1984 she started her first interior design firm and four years later founded Colours, which has its offices in the Holsum Lofts on Charleston Boulevard.

Her ties to the local design community include a lifelong friendship with Roger Thomas, executive vice president of Wynn Design and Development.

Colours has been involved in some major projects including the Andre Agassi charter school, SoHo Lofts, Coyote Springs North of Las Vegas and the Park Towers luxury condominiums at Hughes Center. The firm has also expanded its customer base outside of Southern Nevada with its participation in projects such as the Canyon River Golf Community in Missoula, Mont.

Ron often makes landmark decisions in short order, based on interpretation of the Nevada Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and rulings from lower court judges.

It took him a little longer to sort out his feelings for Leslie.

The couple’s paths had crossed several times over the years, but they had never even considered dating, let alone starting a serious relationship.

Ron had resettled in Las Vegas and continued to work in the family law firm, which focused on civil litigation until he won a seat on the Las Vegas Municipal Court in 1991. He had no idea just how much his decision to seek a judgeship would change his life, both personally and professionally.

At the party to commemorate his victory, Ron ran into Leslie and asked her to decorate his chambers.

“For free, I might add,” Leslie said. “What a line. I have to admit I had never heard that one before.”

Although their previous encounters had been mostly forgettable, both admit sparks flew that night. They began dating and were married a year later.

They share a spacious home in Queensridge, a master-planned community on the western edge of Las Vegas.

Leslie’s mother, Wanda Jacobs, who is 87, lives with the couple and is an integral part of their successes.

“When you talk about our career paths and what we have been able to do, a large part of our family success has been achieved because my mom has always been here to help take care of our kids,” Leslie said. “Your primary concern when you have kids and both parents are working is how to raise them and she made that possible for me.”

“My primary office is in Carson City and the nature of the job itself requires constant preparation and study,” Ron said. “When I’m up there by myself it’s fine to study until two or three in the morning. When I’m down here with my family, I feel terribly guilty.”

Leslie admits it has been tough having a husband in absentia for long periods, but says things have gotten better each year.

“It’s the learning curve in that first year that is really tough,” she said.

The volume of cases is always burdensome, however, because in Nevada there is no lower appeals court.

“Initially you have to throw yourself into it and understand it to be good at it,” Ron said. “Even now it requires constant preparation because the volume of the cases that we see is such that you can’t take a breath or you get behind. It’s like that old ‘I Love Lucy’ episode where the candy keeps coming down the conveyor belt.”

When Jilli was younger it was easier for the family to travel up north for occasional visits, but now that she is in high school, her curriculum is much more demanding.

“Like a lot of couples out there who both work, we just see each other when we can and make the most of the time we have,” Leslie said.

With Jilli in high school and Cali enjoying a successful career as a hair stylist, the Parraguirres also know that in a few years life will get a lot simpler.

“The nice part is that we made the choice to buy an interim house (in Reno), with the idea that someday we could live up there and that’s really our dream,” Leslie said. “I love Las Vegas and it’s been really good to me, but Reno, Carson and Tahoe are so beautiful and the seasons are so awesome that we know we will wind up there.”

Leslie has positioned herself to be able to run her business from just about anywhere, and Ron faces reelection next year. If successful, he will not have to run again until 2016.

Running a political campaign is always a challenge, but this time around Parraguirre will have six years of experience and statewide name recognition on his side.

He might even be able to skip that return visit to Rock Shop Bob’s.