Assembly Republicans to choose new speaker next week

CARSON CITY - It will be another week before Assembly Republicans choose a new speaker designate following the announcement Sunday by Sparks lawmaker Ira Hansen that he was stepping down from the post because of controversial statements he made while a columnist for the Sparks Daily Tribune.

The 25-member caucus is expected to meet Dec. 2 in Las Vegas to decide who will lead the group and the entire 42-member Assembly when the Legislature convenes Feb. 2.

In another development, Gov. Brian Sandoval said Monday that he met privately with Hansen on Friday and asked him to step down as speaker designate.

“I asked him to do so specifically because of his offensive published writings and statements regarding race, sexual preference and gender,” Sandoval said in a statement. “I respect Mr. Hansen’s decision to step down, in his own words, ‘for the greater good of Nevada.’ ”

There is no clear indication yet who will be named to succeed Hansen.

Las Vegas lawmaker Paul Anderson is seeking the position. He had already been picked by the caucus earlier this month to serve as majority leader in the 2015 session.

Others who may be interested include Michele Fiore of Las Vegas and John Ellison of Elko.

Hansen was picked by the caucus as speaker designate on Nov. 7. But last week, a Reno newspaper published controversial comments about race and other issues attributed to the lawmaker while writing for the Sparks newspaper.

Those comments created a firestorm of criticism that lead Hansen to step down from the position.

Hansen said in a statement that the attacks were not about his past comments but instead aimed at removing him as speaker because he would be an obstacle to any tax increase that may be proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval and other lawmakers in the upcoming session.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.