Washington insider tapped as city of Las Vegas government affairs manager
John Lopez, the Washington insider who testified with immunity in former U.S. Sen. John Ensign’s ethics case and guided the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act through Congress, is now the city of Las Vegas’ government affairs manager.
The Reno native spent 22 years working in government and policy, starting as an intern with Rep. Barbara Vucanovich in 1991 and ending his career in Washington after admitting to doing Ensign’s bidding to help the husband of Ensign’s mistress find work. The scandal culminated in Ensign’s resignation in 2011.
Lopez told the Senate Ethics Committee that he served as an intermediary between Ensign and Doug Hampton, who was the senator’s staffer and the husband of Ensign’s mistress. Lopez helped Ensign circumvent federal cooling off laws that block Senate staffers from lobbying for a year after they leave.
Lopez, 44, started working for Ensign in 1995 as a senior legislative assistant and over time rose to chief of staff.
The most significant legislation Lopez worked on as part of Ensign’s House staff was the Southern Nevada Land Management Act of 1998. It stopped the Bureau of Land Management’s practice of exchanging valuable federal land in complex land swaps that few understood. Sometimes the agreements were to the disadvantage of the BLM, and thus the disadvantage of taxpayers. Now the process is more open, and money from land sold in Clark County returns to the county.
Lopez was the head Republican staff member to bring together Ensign and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s joint legislation.
His newly created position will involve local, state and federal issues. He’ll be a full-time lobbyist at the Legislature.
Before Lopez was hired in December with a salary of $104,655, Ted Olivas, administrative services director, was the city’s government affairs lobbyist.
Lopez laughed when explaining why he decided to move to Las Vegas — for his dog. The 14-year-old Pembroke Welsh corgi named Patrick was having trouble walking in the brutal East Coast weather.
“He wanted to be a Vegas dog,” Lopez said.
On a more serious note, Lopez said that after 22 years in Washington, “It was time to focus on quality of life … D.C. got too toxic.”
Contact reporter Jane Ann Morrison at jmorrison@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0275.
