Nevada lawmaking legend Raggio, 85, dies

Political icon, statesman, the Mount Rushmore of Nevada politics, the lion of the north -- Bill Raggio was all that. But the former state senator's political friends and foes also remembered him Friday as a practical joker and genuine funnyman.

For instance, at the end of the 1999 legislative session, Raggio joined now-state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, and five other Republican assemblywomen in singing his version of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" on the Senate floor.

"He had rewritten the words so the song was for him," Cegavske recalled. "We had so much fun. It was hysterical."

Raggio served a record 38 years as a state senator, and for most of that time, he did have it his way. He reigned over the Senate during a record 10 legislative sessions as its majority leader.

He died Friday, about a year after his retirement, while vacationing with his wife in Sydney, Australia. He was 85.

WIDESPREAD PRAISE

Praise for Raggio poured in as news of his death spread throughout the state.

"With the death of Senator Bill Raggio, one of the great lights in the world of Nevada politics has gone out," Gov. Brian Sandoval said. "Senator Raggio's career exemplified the very best of public service. His dedication to law and order, higher education, and the fiscal health of this great state spanned literally decades of Nevada history and touched the lives of tens of thousands of Nevadans."

Leslie Righetti of Reno, one of Raggio's daughters, said her father died of complications from pneumonia at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney about 5 p.m. Friday, or about 10 p.m. PST Thursday.

"He was so great to so many people being a politician and a statesman and doing service to the state," Righetti said. "I am so proud. But I knew him as Dad. We shared many special moments. It is not just the people of Nevada who lost him; our family lost him, too."

Raggio and his wife, Dale, had flown to Sydney on Feb. 13 with plans to take a three-week cruise around Australia and through the Far East. He became ill shortly after the day-and-a-half flight to Australia and was hospitalized.

Righetti said she and her sister, Tracy Raggio Chew, talked on the phone with their father Thursday before his death. Raggio's six grandchildren and one great-grandchild also spoke with him.

"We got to say our goodbyes," said Righetti, sobbing.

Raggio's other child, son Mark, died in 2004. His first wife, Dorothy, died in 1998, shortly before they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Funeral services have not been arranged, but Righetti said that her father was a devoted Catholic and that there will be ceremonies that his friends can attend.

STATE'S 'GREAT PATRIARCH'

Sandoval said flags would fly at half-staff on the day of Raggio's funeral. They already have been placed at half-staff at the Legislative Building.

"I have said before that if there was a Mount Rushmore of Nevada politics, Bill Raggio's image would forever be carved there," the governor said. "The Nevada family has lost a great patriarch; may God rest his soul as we remember all that he meant to our state." 

Sandoval's father, Ron, often served as Raggio's deputy sergeant at arms, helping keep order on the Senate floor.

Raggio retired from the Senate on Jan. 15, 2011, citing ill health.

"He had a respiratory problem most of his life," said Michael Archer, the Reno author who wrote Raggio's biography "A Man of His Word" last year and had gone on book signings with him as recently as two weeks ago.

Although he was widely respected, Raggio upset some conservative Senate Republicans by backing major compromise tax increase packages to pay for education and other government programs as Nevada grew at a rapid pace.

Just before his retirement, Raggio was ousted from his leadership post.

Raggio also had openly backed Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid for re-election in 2010 over Republican Sharron Angle.

Reid called Raggio a fine example of a Nevada leader.

"I am very saddened to hear my friend, Bill Raggio, has passed away," Reid said in a statement. "I have known Bill for decades. He has been a mentor to me. He always fought for Nevada, and his invaluable contributions and service to our state will live on."

U.S. Sen Dean Heller, R-Nev., described Raggio as a dedicated public servant.

"I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio," Heller said. "There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada, and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife, Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come."

NATIVE NEVADAN

Raggio was born on Oct. 30, 1926, in Reno. He served as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve at the end of World War II.

He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, and received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Early in his legal career, he became a deputy district attorney in Washoe County and then spent 12 years as the elected district attorney. He gained fame in 1960 for burning down an illegal brothel operated by the infamous Joe Conforte.

Conforte later was convicted and sentenced to prison for trying to extort Raggio. Conforte now is a fugitive from justice living in Brazil.

Raggio lost a 1970 race for the U.S. Senate to Howard Cannon and the 1968 Republican primary for Congress to Ed Fike.

Although he never won statewide office, he quickly gained a reputation as Northern Nevada's strongest advocate after he was elected to the state Senate in 1972.

Archer, who wrote Raggio's biography, said Raggio was the same person sitting in his den talking about his life as he was on the Senate floor.

"It sounds corny, but dealing with him made me want to be a better person," the author said. "At book signings, he began to refer to me as his friend. That was a great compliment."

Raggio also was a man who never stopped working. He still was spending time at his Jones Vargas law office in Reno the week before the Australia trip.

"He was the best man I have ever met," said Reno lawyer John Sande, who worked with Raggio at the law firm. "He was real excited about the cruise. He was truly one of the most wonderful human beings I have known. I loved him."

REPUTATION AS JOKESTER

At a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday morning, lawmakers, business leaders and others in attendance remembered Raggio with a moment of silence.

In interviews with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, many of them also shared personal memories and stories about the legendary figure in Nevada politics.

Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, loved to watch Raggio have fun with freshman lawmakers who didn't know his reputation for jokes. If Raggio saw a new lawmaker in a restaurant while dining, he would go up to the legislator and say, "I'm a little short today, could you lend me $20 bucks?"

He would always get the cash.

"I don't think he's ever paid anybody back," Hickey said of Raggio's signature joke, which he repeated session after legislative session.

"In the final months, he really was like a grandfather figure you could go to and he would counsel you," Hickey said of Raggio's retirement year. "He always said you get things done when you work beyond party and partisanship. And that's his legacy."

Heller recalled serving with Raggio when he chaired the Senate Finance Committee and Heller, then an assemblyman, sat on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The two money panels held sway over budget decisions, and Raggio, the powerful deal maker, was a master at achieving a compromise between Democrats and Republicans.

"I learned a lot from watching his leadership style very early on," Heller said. "He sat down with both sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats. And we need more of that today."

Raggio was a larger-than-life figure both here and in his beloved Italy, according to Heller.

Heller said he was vacationing with his family once in the tiny town of Sorrento in southern Italy when he saw a photo of Raggio on the wall of a wood shop. Raggio's picture was among an array of famous politicians and American stars, Heller said.

"I took this picture down to have a picture taken with it so I could give it to Bill," Heller said. "And the owner came up to me and said, 'Do you know Bill real well?' "

The wood shop owner then told Heller how Raggio came in with an entourage and "bought the place out."

"He was as big a figure in Italy as he was in Nevada," Heller said. "I was impressed."

THE ART OF COMPROMISE

As a legislator, Raggio was known as an advocate for education. He fathered requirements to improve instruction and to have students pass proficiency examinations.

During his last session in 2009, Raggio engineered legislation calling for nearly $800 million in temporary tax increases over the veto of then-Gov. Jim Gibbons. The taxes were extended for another two years during the 2011 session.

Former Gov. Bob Miller said he grew to admire Raggio during his 10 years as governor.

"I learned a lot from Bill Raggio," Miller said. "I consider him a friend."

Today politicians at the federal and state level constantly argue, but Miller said he will remember something Raggio expressed not long ago: "Compromise is not a bad word."

Sande remembered how Raggio and the late Sen. Jim Gibson, D-Henderson, worked together as friends to craft legislation.

A longtime friend and legislative lobbyist, Alfredo Alonso, said Raggio "protected Northern Nevada" but also protected the whole state.

"He was a gentlemen of class," Alonso said.

In his biography, Raggio spoke of how politics in Nevada have dissipated from friendly partisanship into all-out warfare: "Legislation is still the art of compromise and over the years that has been my mantra."

He also called himself a "Reagan conservative" and said he disagreed with those who call themselves Republican but are in fact Libertarians and "turn a blind eye to what is necessary."

SENATE HALL OF FAME

Soon after Raggio's resignation, Greg Brower, R-Reno, was appointed by the Washoe County Commission to serve out the last two years of his term.

Raggio was honored during the 2011 session when members elected him to the Senate Hall of Fame.

Longtime Legislative Counsel Bureau Administrator Lorne Malkiewich said the passing of Raggio "is the end of an era" at the Nevada Legislature, which now has term limits.

"I am fortunate to have spent most of my career working for Bill Raggio and (former Assembly speaker) Joe Dini," said Malkiewich, who is retiring this year.

Cegavske remembered Raggio as the best-dressed man in the Legislature, always wearing a well-tailored suit and tie.

"He always looked done, so polished," Cegavske said. "Even at two or three in the morning, when we were all looking ragged, he looked fresh. We found out he had a shower."

Las Vegas City Council Bob Coffin recalled that during a rafting trip in Idaho more than 20 years ago, Raggio -- in his birthday suit -- jumped into a 37-degree river, while friends far younger were afraid to try. At night around the campfire, he regaled his friends with stories.

Coffin, who was a friend but a political foe of Raggio's during a 24-year career in the Senate, remembered him for his compassion and his competitive nature.

When Coffin, Raggio and 10 others went on a river rafting trip in Idaho, Raggio always wanted to finish first.

"I will never forget he didn't want to lose going down a wild and scenic river," Coffin said. "He was determined to be first every day. One day he put on head attire and looked like a Mayan chieftain. He tried to sink us. He was a gas."

In addition to his two daughters and wife, Raggio is survived by grandchildren Jennifer, Michael, Meghan and Johnathan Righetti, Sommer Fernandez and Anthony Woodring; and great-grandchild Julien Nesher.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.