Top GOP officials’ quarrel escalates

Gov. Jim Gibbons stepped up his increasingly personal feud with Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki on Friday, accusing Krolicki in a press release of shirking his duties on a foreign trip, but refusing to provide evidence to back up the charge, which Krolicki denied.

Gibbons and Krolicki, both Republicans, have been sparring for more than a week over an appointment to head the state's Tourism Commission, which Krolicki oversees.

The news release issued by the governor's office at 5:30 Friday evening states, "Governor Gibbons has learned that during a state sponsored trip to China, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki spent his time on pursuits unrelated to promoting tourism in Nevada, such as sightseeing and shopping and did not attend scheduled meetings."

The release is headlined, "Governor Demands Accountability of Tax Money Spent by Tourism Commission."

Friday's news release also continued Gibbons' criticism of Krolicki and the commission for seeking business in Asia, saying their efforts should focus on California instead.

"I understand that there is potential business from around the world for Las Vegas, Reno and rural Nevada, but during this worldwide recession we need to be realistic and vigorously pursue attracting tourists who reside closer to Nevada," Gibbons was quoted as saying in the release.

Earlier in the week, Gibbons had criticized Asian and other international marketing efforts for Nevada tourism as "a waste of taxpayers' money."

The dispute began when Gibbons on Dec. 24 announced he was appointing Kirk Montero, a Reno airport station manager, to the $117,000-per-year job of tourism commission director.

By law, the governor is to appoint a director from a list of three names recommended by the commission after considering applications, but the commission had not yet finished culling the applications or given Gibbons its list of preferred candidates.

At a meeting of the commission Monday, commissioners said Montero's application was not submitted by the Oct. 24 deadline and was not one of the 67 being considered for the job.

One commissioner said even if his application had been in the pile, Montero's qualifications would not have stacked up against other candidates. "Mr. Montero would not have made it into my top 10," Commissioner Ryan Sheltra said at the meeting.

In Friday's news release, Gibbons declares that Montero "has had his name dragged through the mud," adding, "Mr. Montero is a very decent intelligent citizen who deserves a hell of a lot more respect than what he has gotten from Mr. Krolicki."

In an interview Friday, Krolicki said he was dismayed by Gibbons' attacks on his performance.

"I'm just extremely disturbed by the level of discourse by the governor in regards to the commission on tourism," Krolicki said. "I will not follow the governor down this conversation trail."

On the June trip to China, Krolicki said, he conducted business nearly the whole time, perhaps purchasing a trinket for his young children but doing no sightseeing and missing no meetings on his agenda, which he said was not always the same as the agenda for the rest of the delegation.

"We worked very hard, and I'm proud of the work we did," he said. "I'm not sure why the governor wants to besmirch some very critical tourism destinations for Nevada."

In addition, he said, the trip was sponsored by the tourism industry members on the delegation, not taxpayer dollars.

As for the application of the governor's favored commission director appointee, Krolicki said, "No one ever handed me an application, nor do I believe it was given to anyone on my staff, and if they had received it, they would have advised the individual to submit it to the proper place" -- that is, the commission.

Gibbons spokesman Dan Burns said the governor was not available to discuss the matter late Friday.

Burns said Gibbons has accepted that Montero won't get the tourism post, based on the commission's decision Monday to proceed with its own search: "That's pretty much over." But the governor is galled by the contention that Montero's application wasn't submitted properly or on time, and wants to correct what he sees as a falsehood, Burns said.

"The governor believes that the statement that the application wasn't in on time is false, and he is very upset about that," Burns said. "For the lieutenant governor to come out and say, 'We never had that application,' that has the governor very upset."

Asked for evidence of the charge that Krolicki missed meetings on the China trip, Burns said, "Those questions should be directed to the lieutenant governor."

As for what the accusations against Krolicki have to do with the Montero appointment, Burns said, "They're separate, but they're both timely."

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.