Valentine leaping from the county frying pan into NRA’s fire

Should I congratulate Virginia Valentine or give her my condolences?

The Clark County manager handed in her resignation Wednesday and on Jan. 4 will become president of the Nevada Resort Association, the first woman to hold that job in the NRA's 45 years.

Instead of wrestling with how to cut from the county budget and still provide essential services during a recession, she'll be the kinder, gentler face of the NRA.

The NRA hasn't had a president since March, when Bill Bible resigned after 10 years at the helm, leaving one to ponder: Who needs it?

What once was a powerful organization that negotiated union contracts for the casinos on the Strip is now "a pale facsimile of what it was; it's going down," one Las Vegas political source said. "I don't know if the NRA will continue; it's kind of atrophied."

"It's not going to survive," predicted another source familiar with the association.

NRA lobbyist Billy Vassiliadis disputed this, saying the organization has been more active in the past few years at the local and state level on various significant issues that don't get much media attention.

But that's not the public perception. Even Vassiliadis conceded that a few years ago it was a faltering organization. But he insists that has turned around.

The NRA's heyday was when Bill Campbell headed it from 1966 until his death in 1982. Campbell was respected and was able to bring the factions together. Quietly, he was an advocate for civil rights in the 1960s. Campbell argued it was time for the Strip properties to change, and change they did.

The NRA was created in 1965 as the primary labor negotiator and lobbying voice for Nevada's gaming industry. Negotiating contracts with unions in the 1960s and '70s kept it in the limelight, until properties decided to do their own negotiating.

The association no longer seems like the powerhouse of yesteryear.

Since 1988, the NRA has been at the forefront urging lawmakers to approve a broad-based business tax. Baby steps were taken in 1991 and 2003, but the reality was nothing like the revamping of the tax structure the NRA desired, and 2011 will be no different.

Over the years, various casinos have pulled out, disagreeing with policies or preferring to lobby on their own. Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson both turned their backs on the NRA, one of the few things they agree upon.

Right now, two companies that do belong to the NRA, Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, are warring over creation of an arena. Caesars says, yes, MGM Resorts says, hell no. (One more issue on which the NRA won't be taking a position.)

One of the problems seems to be the perennial clash of the egos among casino operators.

Valentine, 54, has experience dealing with egos as the county manager for the past four years and as Las Vegas city manager for four years. The engineer-turned-manager was the first general manager of the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. She has also worked for various engineering companies and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

She isn't experienced in gaming, but Valentine is a good manager and policy person. She knows the intricacies of how local governments work and intertwine with state and federal governments. The county manager's job "has been the most challenging job I've ever had, and I've enjoyed that," she said. "But it's fun to do something new, and I like learning new things."

Joining the NRA "is just a great opportunity to work in the leading industry of the state, to look at significant policy issues," she told me.

Perhaps she can revitalize and pump up the NRA's image so it doesn't resemble an invisible organization on life support.

Then congratulations definitely will be appropriate.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.