Gibbons being Gibbons

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

Gov. Jim Gibbons is on the offensive in an effort to find relevancy with a little more than six months left in his term. And he is picking some major fights on his way out of office.

As David McGrath Schwartz reported in Tuesday’s Las Vegas Sun, the lame-duck governor recently denied requests from the Legislature for information on the state budget. He called the requests “busywork” and “wild goose chases” that were costing the state money. As if that weren’t enough, Gibbons then attacked the Legislature, questioning whether it had the legal authority to work outside of its biennial session.

Gibbons is also fighting lawmakers and the Board of State Prison Commissioners over Nevada State Prison in Carson City. Gibbons previously proposed closing the prison, but the Legislature denied the request. He went ahead with the plans anyway, until the attorney general’s office said he didn’t have the authority — the board has it. In addition to the governor, the board is made up of the attorney general and secretary of state, both of whom put a hold on Gibbons’ plan. Instead of respecting the Legislature and the power of the board, Gibbons said he would consider his “legal options” to find ways to work around them.

His responses to the Legislature and the board are unfortunately typical for him. Throughout his term, Gibbons has tried to bully lawmakers and anyone else who disagreed with him. He has become fond of quoting the state constitution, which proclaims the governor as the “chief magistrate” who has the “supreme executive power of this state.”

However, his arrogance and his refusal to work with others has made him largely ineffective and irrelevant. And that has been evident to the voters. It is notable that Gibbons lost the Republican primary for governor in a year in which his party shifted well to the right. That should have helped him. Republican voters picked the ultraconservative Sharron Angle as their nominee for U.S. Senate, and Gibbons and Angle share many political beliefs. However, Republican voters passed over Gibbons for Brian Sandoval who, at least until the primary, was considerably more moderate than Gibbons.

Gibbons’ primary loss was a sharp rebuke, but instead of finishing out his term quietly and making sure there will be a smooth transition, Gibbons is continuing on his disastrous course. That poses a serious threat to the state.

In January, after Gibbons leaves office, his predecessor will have just a few weeks to present a budget to the Legislature. It will then be up to lawmakers to craft a final budget in their 120-day session. That leaves little time to deal with a budget shortfall that has been estimated at as much as $3 billion.

Given the magnitude of the problem, this is not a time for games. Gibbons should order his administration to provide the Legislature the information it requested as soon as possible so lawmakers have time to carefully consider the budget.

Gibbons should understand that this is bigger than politics or even himself. This affects the future of Nevada. He should do the right thing — now.