Former Nevada Rep. Jim Santini dies

WASHINGTON — James D. Santini, a champion of mining and tourism who represented Nevada in Congress as the state was embarking on a run of unprecedented growth in the mid- to late 1970s, passed away Tuesday. He was 78.

Santini died at a hospice center in Rockville, Md., after being diagnosed with advanced-stage esophageal cancer.

One of 75 Democrats first elected as part of the historic post-Watergate class of 1974, Santini was the last person to represent the entire state of Nevada as an at-large member of the U.S. House. The fast-growing state was awarded a second congressional seat following the 1980 census.

By then, Santini was ready to try for higher office. In a daring move in 1982, he ran to unseat incumbent Sen. Howard Cannon in the Democratic primary. Cannon won narrowly but went on to be upset in the general election by Republican Chic Hecht.

Santini took a second political gamble in 1986, switching parties and becoming a Republican for another Senate run. He was defeated by then-Rep. Harry Reid.

Following his four-term congressional career, Santini remained in the Washington area and became a well-known lobbyist with clients in the travel and tourism industry, including the National Tour Association where he served as legislative counsel from 1983 through 2007.

In Congress, Santini was considered moderate-to-conservative, his support for bills favored by President Jimmy Carter never topping 50 percent, according to Congressional Quarterly vote studies.

Santini opposed Carter's plans to place MX missiles in the Nevada desert, and issued early warnings that Nevada could be targeted as Congress began searching for sites to bury nuclear waste. Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, eventually was selected over the state's objections.

As the sole congressman from a small state, Santini did not have many opportunities to wield clout but he distinguished himself by building expertise on land, water and mining matters crucial to his developing state, according to Michael Green, a history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Green said Santini may end up being as much remembered for his Senate ambitions in 1982 and his party switch in 1986, moves that ruffled feathers in both parties, Green said.

"He was well-liked but on both sides of the aisle there was a little unhappiness with him for various reasons." Green said. "By all accounts he had a successful life but in a way the jury will always be out on what else might have happened" if he had become a senator.

Santini's most noted achievement was sponsorship of what became known as the Santini-Burton Act. The law cosponsored with Rep. Phillip Burton, D-Calif., authorized the U.S. Forest Service to buy and preserve sensitive land surrounding Lake Tahoe, using the proceeds of surplus land sales in Southern Nevada. It became a model for preservation bills later passed for Clark County, Lincoln County and other parts of the state.

Santini championed the mining industry, which then was an even larger engine of the Nevada economy. As chairman of the House Subcommittee on Mines and Mining, he argued the United States needed a national minerals policy to spur production.

His other area of focus was travel and tourism, reflecting a Las Vegas that was growing ever more popular as a marquee destination. He advocated for the creation of a tourism promotion office within the Department of Commerce, and helped establish the U.S. Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, which he served as chairman.

"Jim worked hard for all of Nevada and always sought to put the state's interests first," Sen. Dean Heller. R-Nev., said Tuesday.

In a Senate speech, Reid said Santini "breathed what Nevada was all about," coming from a family where one of his uncles, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, was a noted literary figure, the author of "The Ox-Bow Incident," a seminal Western novel.

"He served very honorably for four terms," Reid said. "He was well-regarded and very popular in the state of Nevada."

Beyond politics, Reid said Santini was a noted collector of arrowheads and Indian baskets.

"There may be someone who has a better arrowhead collection," Reid said. "I don't know who it would be."

Santini was born August 13, 1937, and raised in Reno, where his father was a banker. His grandfather, Walter E. Clark, was president of the University of Nevada from 1918 to 1938.

Santini earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and a law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

After passing the Nevada bar, Santini began practicing law in Las Vegas in 1962. After serving in the Army from 1963-66, he worked as a deputy district attorney in Clark County and then as a county public defender. In 1972 he was appointed by then-Gov. Mike O'Callaghan as the state's youngest-ever district court judge, and he ran for Congress two years later.

A Clark County figure with roots in the north, Santini was well-positioned to run and win statewide. In 1974 he defeated Republican incumbent David Towell, and easily won re-election in subsequent years.

Santini and his wife Ann Crane Santini were married for 47 years. They had six children and 13 grandchildren.

Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 1 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 11700 Falls Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854. A Facebook page has been created to share memories, www.facebook.com/jimsantinimemories.

Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC