After early stumble, governor rebounded

CARSON CITY

If it were a horse race, even his supporters would acknowledge that Gov. Jim Gibbons stumbled badly out of the starting gate.

He was dogged by allegations of sexual impropriety with a Las Vegas waitress in the weeks preceding his election. There were claims in a national newspaper that he took gifts while in Congress to help a friend secure military contracts. And there were questions about an eyebrow-raising and secretive midnight swearing in on Jan. 1 at his Reno home. It all led some Nevada residents to question just who was sitting in the governor's office in the capital here.

But a year later, the Sparks native has by most accounts recovered from those early troubles.

Whether his improved status continues, however, may depend on how he chooses to balance a budget that is now at least $440 million out of whack.

It could be the defining issue of his first term, but what voters will think of his performance three years from now when he runs for a second term is still anybody's guess.

State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who ran against Gibbons in the Republican primary, may have summed up the governor's first year in office best: "He survived."

Having overcome all the early negative publicity, Gibbons went on to achieve the major goals he set in his State of the State address, Beers said.

Gibbons held the line on taxes, found $1 billion in existing tax revenue to shift to road construction needs and won support for an expansion of empowerment schools, where teachers and administrators have more say in how students learn, he said.

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, offered a similar assessment: "He got through the legislative session. It wasn't great but at the end he was a player. He had a modest agenda and he achieved it."

Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, said her group would have liked to have seen more progress on the state's road funding woes, given its importance to the state economy and quality of life, especially in Southern Nevada.

"It just makes the whole issue even more challenging for next session," Vilardo said. "But whether you agree with the governor or not, he made his position clear on taxes and he achieved his goal."

Not everyone is as generous.

"I am appalled by the ineptitude he has shown in making appointments, in his understanding of the budget and in his lack of leadership in this time of financial crisis," said state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas.

Jan Gilbert, a lobbyist for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, a coalition of groups representing working Nevadans, said Gibbons' exclusionary style of leadership does not serve the state well, particularly in his handling of the budget shortfall.

"It is a cloak-and-dagger administration," she said. "His style of governing and leadership is abysmal."

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said Gibbons had a bumpy first year, much of it because of a lack of communication.

Many of his actions left veterans lawmakers and others "scratching their heads," Buckley said. "There have been a tremendous amount of missteps."

Gibbons, in a recent interview looking at his first year in office, gave himself good marks for his performance, from preparing his major policy speech, the State of the State address, on short notice, to working cooperatively with the Legislature to pass a balanced budget, and now dealing with an economic slowdown that is forcing the state to cut back on the expansion of state government programs and services.

"We came away with some great things for the state of Nevada," he said. "Whether it was holding the line on taxes, education or transportation -- creative things that make Nevada a better place."

There is no question that Gibbons is in better shape politically than he was a few months ago, although his public approval numbers remain low.

The pre-election incident involving waitress Chrissy Mazzeo faded away after the case was closed by the Clark County District Attorney's Office.

A February report in the Wall Street Journal said the FBI was investigating allegations Gibbons accepted unreported payments or gifts from a friend whose Reno software company Gibbons helped land secret military contracts while he was in Congress. Those allegations, which Gibbons has denied, have not been a death blow. The matter is ongoing.

But other issues remain.

Titus, who lost to Gibbons in last year's governor's race, said Gibbons has not shown leadership on the housing slowdown and mortgage crisis.

"He doesn't even acknowledge there is a crisis," she said.

And his track record of questionable appointments has continued unabated, Titus said.

It wasn't only the appointment of a pro-nuclear waste repository county commissioner to the Commission on Nuclear Projects, later rescinded, she said. Also raising concerns were the selection of a Carson City resident with no experience to the Governor's Office of Energy, who later stepped down, and the selection of a former officer of a bankrupt mortgage company as commissioner of the Nevada Mortgage Lending Division, she said.

Buckley said his failure to reappoint qualified people is also an issue. She cited the decision not to reappoint Clark County aviation official Rosemary Vassiliadis to the Homeland Security Commission or Joe Brown to the Nevada Athletic Commission as two examples.

And though Gibbons has had some successes, some of his proposals haven't seen the light of day, such as the idea to create a liquefied coal plant in Nevada, where there is no coal, or the plan to sell water rights under the state's highways to raise revenue, Buckley said.

Gibbons said he enjoys most aspects of his 14- to 16-hour days as governor, but there is one element he does not like: life in a "fishbowl," where every move and decision, public or private, is questioned and commented on by anyone with an opinion and access to the Internet.

Gibbons has been in the public eye for many years, however, first in the Assembly and then when he launched a failed bid for governor against incumbent Bob Miller in 1994. He also served four terms in the House of Representatives representing Nevada's District 2.

Public scrutiny will continue in reaction to Gibbons' announcement Friday of how he plans to deal with the state budget revenue shortfall.

Gibbons, who initially called for as much as an 8 percent per year cut in many state programs, from the university system and mental health to parks and welfare, instead opted for an across-the-board 4.5 percent cut for all but a few programs.

Although he will tap into a "rainy day fund" to help weather the revenue slowdown, new taxes are not part of Gibbons' budget fix.

"By standing firm on the budget and his pledge of no new taxes, I think that will ultimately rebound in his favor with the public," Herzik said. "Very few governors have gotten into trouble by holding the line on taxes."

Beers said Gibbons is doing what many families are being forced to do right now because of the housing slump.

Gibbons notes that even with his budget reductions, new spending for the current two years will still increase by nearly $700 million.

On the topic of national politics, Gibbons has not endorsed any of the Republican candidates for president, saying he will let the process play itself out in the primaries and caucuses without his influence.

But local politics is different, and Gibbons said he will continue to support Republican candidates for the Legislature.

Republicans hold a thin 11-10 margin in the state Senate, and are outgunned in the Assembly by a margin of 27 to 15. But due to passage of Gibbons' two-thirds tax vote requirement by voters in 1996, the 15 is enough to thwart any effort by lawmakers in the lower house to raise revenues.

Gibbons said he intends to run for a second term as governor in 2010.

"It's a richly rewarding experience to be the governor of the state. I think that reward is being able to make a difference. Being able to see something that is wrong and correcting it."

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3900.