Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Bill Raggio honored after record 38 years in Nevada Senate

Special Session - Day 3

Sam Morris

Former state Sen. Bill Raggio, shown here during the 2010 special legislative session, died Thursday at age 85 after falling ill while on a trip in Australia with his wife, Dale.

Sun Coverage

CARSON CITY – Former state Sen. Bill Raggio of Reno was inducted into the Senate Hall of Fame today after being called “one of the greatest figures of political life.”

Raggio, a Republican, served 38 years in the Senate, longer than anyone else in Nevada history.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, said Raggio was a true statesman who put “the state of Nevada before party.”

Raggio served as majority leader and chairman of the Finance Committee during his 10 terms before retiring last year. He said today he was “overwhelmed” by the honor.

“There were good times, tough times and fun times,” Raggio told the Senate. “There were disagreements but I always felt the result was in the best interest of Nevada.”

Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, called Raggio a leader in education. Raggio’s unique knowledge of the budget will never be equaled, McGinness said.

The induction came on “Old Timers Day,” in which former members of the Senate were honored. There were more than 30 former senators who attended a special luncheon in the old Assembly chambers of the state capitol.

Raggio was district attorney in Washoe County from 1958 to 1970 and was named “Outstanding Prosecutor in the United States” in 1965. He was elected president of the National District Attorneys Association in 1967.

There was some joking at the induction as senators said Raggio had conned each member out of $20. “His ability to get $20 out of everybody has never been met,” Horsford quipped.

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