To paraphrase Laurel and Hardy: It’s another fine mess that no one in particular got us into.
But there are a few people — one in particular — who refuses to help America get out of it. But that is a story for another day. Today’s story is about the people in Nevada who are trying their best to save lives and save the economy of this state.
They are called public servants and they can range from elected officers like Gov. Steve Sisolak and the members of the Nevada Legislature to county and city officials who, for the most part, get into the business of serving the public for good and noble reasons. And, yes, a very few of them get out eventually but not before betraying all their good intentions.
No one in elective office in this state signed up for the time of coronavirus. Everyone is winging it, doing the best they can with some circumstances way beyond their control and others within the control only of the broader Nevada family. But one thing is certain: The people we have entrusted to make good and sane decisions on our behalf — along with first responders and front-line medical personnel — are not getting much sleep these days.
This is a column not to be critical of them but to be thankful for their efforts. Even though there are many — especially in the Legislature — who lack the experience necessary to make the best and most prudent decisions. They, nonetheless, are trying to do what they think is right. Of course, there are always a few who try their best to do what’s wrong for petty political reasons, but Nevada is fortunate to have weeded out most of them. Just in time for the pandemic.
As I write this, the special Nevada legislative session is still hard at work, trying to fill an unfillable hole in the budget and trying to do it without making our state a Third World outpost, and trying to fix the problem without overtaxing the few remaining economic engines that are contributing to the state’s much-depleted revenue. All this is happening to benefit Nevadans who are still losing jobs, health insurance coverage and unemployment benefits on a daily basis. And their ability to hope is slipping away with every new COVID-19 case and death recorded.
This is a time that screams out for a federal response in the trillions of dollars. We scream and we wait.
To Nevada’s credit, while we have not yet controlled our own viral spread within the state — it’s really hard to do given our tourist economy, which requires people from everywhere else to visit us and bring with them their bad habits and possible infections — we are, at least, making decisions up and down the governmental ladder based on science and medicine. We are not taking the hocus-pocus, head-in-the-sand approach we see in other states and which emanates from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
When this session is over, there will not be anyone in the state who will be happy about what has been done. It will have had to be done in the name of a balanced budget requirement — which is good — and because of unreasonable handcuffs on taxing authority — which are bad.
But we should, at least, recognize that our fight today is not with policymakers — our public servants — during a quickly called special session that had no good choices — just very bad ones — but with the continued, real and deadly threat of COVID-19. That has to be our first priority if this state, a state that can only survive with a healthy workforce and a healthy tourist base, is to grow after the virus has been defeated.
The bottom line: Mistakes will be made. None that can’t be corrected during the 2021 session. But the blame should be placed on the way America responded to the pandemic, not the way in which our fellow Nevadans tried to fix the very real damage that has ensued.
In short, we need to cut our elected representatives a little slack.
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And, speaking of public service, please allow me a moment of personal privilege.
Not every public servant is elected in this state. There are hundreds of ordinary people who are appointed to various boards and commissions throughout Nevada. Their work, which takes huge amounts of their time, energy and often with little or no remuneration, goes largely unnoticed by the public and almost universally underappreciated.
Today, I want to express my appreciation and congratulations — and I am certain I speak for every Nevadan — to my dear friend and a man who has given so much in service to this state and its citizens.
This past week, the governor appointed John Moran Jr. to the chairmanship of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It is not only a well-deserved appointment but, in my opinion, a long overdue one. John has served on the commission for over 15 years during which time some of the most difficult decisions have been made under the most challenging conditions. John has demonstrated a steady, insightful and firmly fair hand along with his other commission members throughout his tenure.
But that isn’t all. I single John out because he represents the best of what a Nevadan can do when he decides to give back to the community and state. John has served this state most of his adult life. He may be the only person in Nevada who has served as chairman and longtime member of three separate commissions, which makes him the repository of knowledge and experience from three vital interests in Nevada.
John was appointed in 1989 by Gov. Bob Miller to the Colorado River Commission — think water — where he served as a member and as chairman. Following that service, Gov. Kenny Guinn appointed John to the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners — think conservation and hunting — where he also served as chairman. Gov. Guinn then appointed John to the Gaming Commission in 2004.
By my count, that is over 20 years of dedication to this state in areas vital to our well-being — all with little fanfare, no failures and total respect for the needs of our residents. Gov. Sisolak chose well on this one.
John represents hundreds of Nevadans who have given of themselves and who rarely, if ever, hear a thank you.
So, thank you, Mr. Chairman!
Brian Greenspun is editor, publisher and owner of the Sun.