Nevada has already had a senator-general: Howard Cannon

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Heck wouldn't be the first Nevadan to wear two hats as a senator and reserve general officer if he succeeds in his bid to fill the seat of departing Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.

In 1961, Nevada Democrat Howard Cannon was promoted to the rank of Air Force Reserve brigadier general three years after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Then in 1966, two years after he was re-elected to the U.S. Senate by a narrow, 48-vote margin over Republican Lt. Gov. Paul Laxalt, Cannon was promoted to Air Force Reserve major general. He held that rank during the rest of his Senate tenure, which ended when he lost a fifth-term re-election to Republican Mayer J. "Chic" Hecht.

Heck, an Army Reserve brigadier general and U.S. representative, is running against Democratic Party candidate Catherine Cortez Masto for Reid's Senate seat.

Heck, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has said he would recuse himself from voting for any promotions in his military rank. He is currently deputy commanding general of the Army Reserve's 3rd Medical Command in Atlanta.

His camp says that his Army Reserve experience and his desire to continue to serve as a commander will help him make better informed decisions as has been the case in his dual roles as one of Nevada's representatives in the House.

While Heck is emergency room physician with three-month tour of Iraq on his Army Reserve records, Cannon was a World War II pilot who, as a senator, made test flights in new aircraft before voting on funds to develop them.

He once said two of his biggest thrills came from flying the B-58 in 1961 and the F-111 at Nellis Air Force Base when the aircraft first became part of the Air Force's warplanes.

Reid credits Cannon, who died in 2002, with protecting the Nellis base when it was threatened by funding cuts.

— Keith Rogers

Chamber sought Yucca briefing

The visit to Washington last week by the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce yielded a bit of awkwardness when it came to the political hot potato of Yucca Mountain.

Chamber officials were given a Capitol Hill briefing Thursday by Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., the subcommittee chairman who is leading a campaign to revive the controversial Nevada nuclear waste project.

Afterward, chamber leaders said it was the Yucca proponent who had asked for the meeting. "We met with Congressman Shimkus out of respect and to hear his perspective," spokeswoman Cara Clarke said.

But the congressman begged to differ. Shimkus spokesman Jordan Haverly produced an August email to Shimkus from an associate of chamber lobbyist Jon Porter requesting "an in-person meeting" for the visiting Nevadans.

After going back and checking, Clarke confirmed the email. She said the chamber was responding to a standing invitation from Shimkus for Nevada business leaders to call on him whenever they were in town.

Yucca Mountain "is a topic that's important to us," Clarke said. Shimkus "has really been proactive in wanting to talk."

Chamber President Kristin McMillan emphasized the organization formally opposes the Yucca project and has no plans to change its position. Still, she said business leaders need to stay current on the issue, and not "cut off conversation" with any of the players.

— Steve Tetreault

Ex-Senate secretary heads to Kentucky

David Byerman, the former baritone voice of the state Senate, is leaving Nevada for the halls of the Kentucky Legislature.

Byerman was hired by leaders of the Kentucky General Assembly as director of the Legislative Research Commission overseeing nonpartisan staff. He will receive an annual salary of $135,000

Byerman served as secretary of the Nevada Senate from 2011 through 2014, when Republicans regained control of the upper chamber and Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Las Vegas, reinstated Claire Clift to the position. Clift was Senate secretary for a decade before Democrats took the majority in 2010 and Byerman was named to the position by then Democratic Majority Leader Steven Horsford.

The secretary directs daily operations of the Senate and manages about 100 staff members.

Byerman previously worked as government liaison in Nevada for the U.S. Census Bureau. He is a former communications director for MGM Mirage and also previously worked at the Nevada Department of Transportation and as executive assistant to former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller.

Byerman is expected to begin his new job in the Bluegrass State in October.

— Sandra Chereb

Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC. Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2. Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.