Legislative Watch

Q & A

“I became very interested in public service… I was the Republican senate candidate in 1970… I’m now completing my ninth term as state senator of Washoe County.”

Raggio served as a marine officer during World War II, then went to law school. He later started a law firm that merged with what is now Jones Vargas, of which he is a partner.

“The first thing to do is to get involved in community service… determine what you think needs to be improved. Do some volunteer work, volunteer for neighborhood advisory groups.”

Raggio added: “If you want to get into political life, then you have to start paying some dues. Get involved in campaigns… learn the political structure from the ground up.”

“I think mine are pretty well-known by now… my primary interests as a senator have obviously been finance and budgets… education, both K-12 and higher education.”

Raggio spoke of the lack of revenue in Nevadan taxes. He created the Economic Forum in 1991, which projects general fund revenue. Raggio said: “With the downturn in the economy, those projects were optimistic. No one could foresee the downturn.” He stated his main goal as being able to minimize the effects of the lesser revenue on various state agencies, including education.

On Gov. Jim Gibbons, Raggio said: “This governor, who gets a lot of criticism, did the right thing… Gov. Gibbons didn’t do it differently than all these other governors. When you don’t have the revenue, you have to cut back.”

As for the state agencies, Raggio said: “Most of the agencies have done that. And I think they’ve done it responsibly… They’ve been able to do that with minimal impact.

“They’re not cutting programs in any real measure. They’re not cutting teachers salaries.They’re not cutting positions.”

Raggio spoke of Nevada’s Rainy Day Fund — a $230 million fund—that Democrats long proposed to be used to provide relief to the state, especially education needs. Raggio, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said that nearly the entire fund is being used. He plans to find ways to begin rebuilding the fund next session.

Raggio said:  “The problem is we’ll have to build it back up again. And the next session’s issues don’t appear to be that optimistic either.”

Raggio pointed to a wall full of photos with him with various politicians, including nearly every president since Richard Nixon. Not knowing where to start, he asked this reporter to pick a picture on the wall, and he’d tell the story behind it. This reporter pointed to a picture of Raggio with President Ronald Reagan.

“I met President Reagan, knew him, having gone to the White House or meetings during the time when I was chairman of the National Legislative Council.

“I don’t want to leave the impression I was a close friend of these people, but I did occasionally meet them… have meetings with them.”

“Stick to your principles. Keep your ears and eyes open to all sides. If you think you’re wrong, don’t be afraid to change. But have some principles you believe in.

“That’s why I’m a Republican.”

“Having said all that, if you’re going to be a legislator, there has to be compromise… you have to be willing to consider other peoples’ views, as long as they don’t violate your principles… I also think it’s important to have faith and God in your life, although I don’t wear it on my sleeve.”

Raggio champions education, specifically higher education. He spoke of a term, “brain drain,” which means high achieving high school students leaving Nevada for out-of-state universities, as a problem.

Raggio said: “As much as possible, keep our Nevada Students here.” He said that is why he supported the creation of the Millennium Scholarship, which offers incentives for Nevada students to attend Nevada colleges.

Raggio also expressed a strong need for “fiscal responsibility at all levels.”

He also discussed being an advocate of merit-based judge selection, which means judges would be approved by merit before they could publicly run for office. “We should always want fair and impartial judges,” Raggio said.

“We’re going to have to deal with limited revenues. A balanced budget is my primary objective, trying to meet basic needs in the state.

“We’ve got a long waiting-list of people who need services.

“Raising taxes is the last resort. I want to make that clear. However, I would support a comprehensive analysis of our tax framework… We need to take a good, strong look at it. We haven’t had a strong study in two decades.”

Did you Know?

- Raggio ran for the U.S Senate in Nevada on the endorsement of then-President Richard Nixon.  Otherwise, Raggio would have run for governor that same year.

- Raggio served domestically as an officer in the Marines from 1944-1946.

- The College of Education and Math and Science center at the University of Nevada, Reno are named after Raggio.

- Raggio has served in the Nevada Senate longer than any other senator in the state’s history.

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