Senator set to lead GOP

CARSON CITY -- As a boy growing up in a one-stoplight town in Kansas, Michael Roberson would tag along with his mother as she crusaded for Democratic causes.

"We were Blue Dog Democrats; being a Democrat in the 1970s was different than being a Democrat today," said Roberson, who is now a state senator in Nevada.

"I remember as a child of 7 or 8 going to meetings, going to recall meetings, trying to get people together."

With the presidency of Ronald Reagan, he threw off his Democratic clothes and became a conservative Republican, later working as an intern in Washington, D.C., for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and as a fundraiser for national Republican organizations.

And as a fully committed conservative Republican in the November 2010 election, Nevada political unknown Roberson beat Democrat Joyce Woodhouse to became the state senator for District 5 in southeastern Las Vegas and Henderson.

Today he is the fundraising and recruiting chairman for the Senate Republicans and the odds-on favorite to become the party leader at the next legislative session in 2013.

If Republicans can pick up one seat -- and Roberson predicts they will gain two -- he will be the Senate majority leader, the most powerful member of the Senate.

Because he is in the middle of his four-year Senate term, Roberson doesn't have to worry about his own re-election.

He would make committee assignments, pick chairmen and help Gov. Brian Sandoval push his programs into law.

His rise in GOP stature is largely because of Roberson's tenacity in standing up to Democrats during the 2011 session and the speaking ability he has gained as a real estate and business law lawyer.

Unlike the mild-mannered Republican senators at the session in the spring, Roberson spoke out, at times angrily challenging Democrats on legislation he thought would hurt businesses.

MORE COLLEGIAL SESSION IN 2013?

Roberson promises Nevadans will see a much more collegial Senate in 2013 in which the parties work together and arrive at mutual solutions, rather than the bitter, partisan battles that plagued the recent session.

"People are sick of excessive partisanship," he said. "I don't think Democrats are bad people. I believe we can sit down and over a four-month period find common ground and move the ball down the field for the people of Nevada."

He expects the same attitude from Democrats and their presumptive leader, Sen. Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas.

Denis readily agrees on the need for civility, although he is not convinced that Roberson has become a devotee to bipartisan compromise.

"We need to work together for Nevada's best interests," Denis said. "I am the kind of person who is willing to talk and work with anyone who is reasonable. If he is willing to do that, I will sit down with him."

Sen. Greg Brower, R-Reno, expects Republicans will become the majority party and people soon will learn how Roberson can work with Democrats.

"Mike is someone who by his nature, believe it or not, wants to work with the other side," said Brower, who met and became friends with Roberson during the 2011 session.

"He won't compromise on his principles, but he will work with Democrats on what is best for Nevada. A lot of people see Mike as a partisan and a conservative, but I was impressed by his ability to get along with people on a variety of issues. He is a good negotiator. We are going to be able to get things done."

Roberson's emphasis on compromise might surprise people who saw him as the Republican attack dog at the Legislature.

After his fiery speeches denouncing their positions, peeved Democrats took to calling him "rookie."

He arrived in Carson City intending to be a typical freshman who would sit silently with his head down. But he said that after watching Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, push legislation "harmful to business and job creators," he decided he no longer could remain quiet.

CALLS HORSFORD A 'BULLY'

"Steven Horsford would not work with us. He would not listen to our caucus on any big issue. He tried to jam what I thought was bad legislation down our throats. When a bully does that and he is a bully, you punch back," Roberson said.

Horsford declined to respond to Roberson's comments. But Mike Luce, executive director of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said Democrats were willing to negotiate.

"Senator Roberson, rather than offering solutions and coming to the table, said, 'No, no, no.' It's unfortunate that Senator Roberson is now playing politics by rehashing old issues and once again not focusing on putting Nevadans back to work."

But Roberson said his whole emphasis will be on "getting people working."

"You want more tax revenue. You need more taxpayers. That is how you turn things around. Everything we do we have to keep in mind is whether it creates a good business environment or discourages job creation."

"I am not a no, no, no guy, but we think we ought to be more thoughtful than just say, 'OK, let's tax people.' "

Roberson is resolute in his assertion that Horsford and Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, permitted no dialogue with Republicans before they announced their $1.2 billion tax plan. That tax plan, however, was practically dead on arrival in mid-May because of unified opposition by Sandoval and Republicans.

Horsford is not seeking re-election to the Senate next year. Instead he is a candidate for the new 4th Congressional District seat.

Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, said the Democratic caucus will be different in 2013, and he looks forward to more collegiality between the parties

REPUBLICAN AGENDA IN 2013

Roberson said the Republicans' agenda will include pushing for more education reforms, such as school vouchers, that were sought by Sandoval but rejected by Democrats.

"You will see a reform agenda, education, collective bargaining and PERS (the Public Employees Retirement System) reform. There is something wrong when public employees are making 30 percent more than the market can bear," he said.

Because of collective bargaining agreements, Roberson contends public employees in the major counties are being paid 30 percent more than their counterparts in private industry.

He said he isn't talking about state employees, who lack the right to collective bargain and have salaries near that of comparable private workers.

"That is $1 billion a year we are paying in salaries above the market," Roberson said. "That money could go to hiring more teachers, for school books for kids.

His political philosophy isn't difficult to understand because it is the same philosophy uttered by most Republican presidential candidates. Keep taxes low. Don't spend frivolously. Encourage businesses to relocate in Nevada and Nevada businesses to expand.

But David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, does not believe Republican talking points work in Nevada.

"We are already a low-taxed state, and yet we lead the country in unemployment," he said. "The reason businesses don't come here is they think our education system isn't any good. They don't want to bring their families here."

POOR BOY FROM TORNADO ALLEY

Roberson hardly grew up a fat cat. Population 3,000, Galena, Kan., has been one of the poorer spots in America's tornado country for decades.

His parents divorced when he was 8. His mother, Karen Shamblin, worked two or three menial jobs to support Roberson, his brother and sister.

"I owe everything to my mother," he said. "She is the strongest person I know.

After graduating with a high school class of 43, Roberson went on to the University of Kansas, where he earned degrees in political science and law.

Then he spent four years in Washington working for DeLay, long before the congressman's money-laundering conviction, and as a fundraiser for Republicans.

Turning 30 in 2000, Roberson and 15 of his friends took a trip to Las Vegas. He decided to stay.

He took a job in a cigar store and decided he needed to get in shape, so he joined a health club. Personal training looked like a "pretty neat job," so he became a personal trainer.

After a year of fun, Roberson realized he needed a more appropriate job, so he passed the state bar exam and became a lawyer.

He joined the Kolesar & Leatham business law firm at a time when the Nevada economy was soaring.

"Things were booming in real estate. I did very well. We still are doing very well. They are very supportive. We just opened a new office in Summerlin in May."

In August 2008, he married Liberty Leavitt, a grandniece of former Nevada Supreme Court Justice and Lt. Gov. Myron Leavitt. They met when Roberson showed up late at a birthday party she had organized for one of his friends.

"There was an empty seat next to her. I took it, and we started talking. Her boyfriend at the time was in the restroom. Bad timing on his part. Two and a half months later, we were married."

SCREAMED AT HIS TV

Roberson's wife encouraged him to get back into politics in the spring of 2009 after seeing him scream at the TV while watching Fox News.

He and a friend attended a Nevada Policy Research Institute luncheon. By the end of the luncheon, he had agreed to be Republican county co-chairman for fundraising. Then he agreed to help run friend Patrick McNaught's campaign for the state Senate. Soon he met longtime Republican operative Robert Uithoven, and by the end of the summer, he had been talked into running for Woodhouse's seat.

"She had a registration advantage, and I beat her by four points," Roberson said.

As the polls closed on election night, he was so nervous that he was prepared to call Woodhouse and concede the race.

Today he is convinced most people favor the Republican philosophy of avoiding unnecessary taxes and keeping government spending down.

Because that is the mood, he predicted that Republicans will pick up the Senate seats now held by Democrats Allison Copening and Shirley Breeden in Clark County districts where Democrats have sizable registration advantages.

Breeden already has announced she won't run for re-election, while sources say Copening also won't run.

"We will become the majority," Roberson vowed.

He has reason for his confidence. He has seen people convert. His Democratic mother now is a Republican.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.