Tourism Commission defies Gibbons’ director appointment

CARSON CITY (AP) -- The Nevada Commission on Tourism voted today to proceed with its own search for a new agency director, dismissing Gov. Jim Gibbons' appointment last week of Kirk Montero, who one commissioner said wouldn't have made his top 10 list of candidates.

The Tourism Commission was advised by the state attorney general's office that Nevada law requires the governor to appoint one of the three finalists recommended by the commission. The commission is still vetting candidates and had not forwarded it recommendations when the governor named Montero to the $117,000-a-year job on Christmas Eve.

"The statute is very clear," Deputy Attorney General Dennis Belcourt said.

To include Montero would require reopening the entire selection process, something the Tourism Commission said it was unwilling to do, said Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who chairs the commission.

"We have some very highly qualified candidates," said Commissioner Ryan Sheltra, who serves on a committee searching for a new director.

"I can tell you Mr. Montero would not have made it into my top 10," he said.

The search committee should have about a half-dozen finalists for the commission to consider in January, said Lorraine Hunt-Bono, former lieutenant governor and commission member.

The governor's office did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Gibbons named Montero to the post that has been vacant since Tim Maland resigned in September.

Montero, 60, is station manager for US Airways at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Before that, he was reservations manager for Reno Air.

In making the appointment, the Republican governor said it was important to fill the job quickly because tourism is key to the state's economic health.

The governor's office did not send a representative to the Tourism Commission meeting.

Gibbons also has proposed merging the tourism agency with the Nevada Commission on Economic Development to cut costs. That would require approval by the 2009 Legislature.

Krolicki sent a Dec. 11 letter to the governor questioning whether to proceed with the director search and Gibbons' seemingly mixed messages about the agency's fate.

Gibbons, in a Dec. 12 reply, said any consolidation of the agencies was uncertain.

"Given the difficult current revenue situation in Nevada ... I feel it is imperative that (the Tourism Commission) promptly submit qualified applicants for the executive director position that are acceptable to me," Gibbons wrote. "I expect the recommendations to include Mr. Kirk Montero."

The letter concluded, "Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and I look forward to appointing an acceptable applicant without further undue delay."

Commissioners also voiced strong opposition to any attempts to merge the tourism and economic development agencies, saying their missions are different and combining them would unravel years of progress.