Most people in Nevada, when asked to name the four most powerful people in the state would most likely mention people who hold elected offices such as the governor, senators or even law enforcement leaders like the Sheriff of the Clark County Metro Police. Few people realize that the most powerful people in the State of Nevada happen to be a few extremely influential lobbyists. In the year of the Jack Abramoff scandal, the word lobbyist has been bandied about repeatedly in the media, but what is a lobbyist? According to Webster’s Dictionary, to lobby is, “1.to conduct activities aimed at influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation or 2. to influence or sway (as a public official) toward a desired action.” Another way to describe a lobbyist is to say they are influence peddlers; selling their influence to the highest bidder. The four most powerful lobbyists (and I venture to say the four most powerful people) in Nevada, are Sig Rogich, Harvey Whittemore, Peter Ernaut, and Billy Vassiliadis. Collectively, these four men have come to be known inside Nevada political circles as the “Power Rangers” after the quirkily costumed children’s martial arts characters. Usually the Power Rangers are adept at “staying below the radar” although if one is to look a little bit, their names pop up in almost every aspect of Nevada government. Most people know what is meant by a “good ‘ol boys club.” The Power Rangers are the lead Mouseketeers.
Today, we will take a look at Harvey Whittemore, since in the last few weeks; Harvey has appeared in two controversial schemes. The latest is his attempt to build the Lazy 8 Casino in the middle of a Sparks neighborhood (which the Sparks City Council denied last week). The other episode involving Whittemore, is the Coyote Springs Development north of Las Vegas. With as much influence and money that Whittemore brings to the table it is somewhat surprising that his bid to build the casino in Sparks was denied. Almost immediately after the Sparks City Council voted its disapproval Harvey and his attorney vowed legal action to the tune of “hundreds of millions of dollars” against the City of Sparks for failing to honor a contractual agreement. It isn’t over yet so it remains to be seen whether Harvey finally gets his way or gets a whole bunch of money. Either way, Harvey is demonstrating that he is a master at the politics of pull.
The other scheme that Whittemore has been working on for the past few years is the Coyote Springs Development which is an hour northeast of Las Vegas. Harvey’s close relationship with Senator Harry Reid has helped tremendously in Whittemore’s ability to sidestep and change policies and regulations standing in the way of his gigantic project. The politics of pull allow a person with the right connections and the right amount of money to do things others cannot do. Whittemore admits this himself when he said, “In a small state, personal relationships are particularly important: "This is not New York. This is Nevada.” I am glad that this is Nevada and not New York. In Nevada, everyone is supposed to be equal, unfortunately some like Harvey Whittemore, are more equal than others.
With Harry Reid’s help, Whittemore has removed formidable obstacles to the Coyote Springs project. Reid had about 13,000 acres of land designated as a sanctuary for the desert tortoise moved out of the center of the Coyote Springs land to the north and eastern edges of the land freeing up development. That is no easy feat when dealing with the Federal Endangered Species Act. Changing the land designation is something that could only be done by the Senate Minority Leader or higher. It is amazing how Democrats are champions of the environment unless it suits their purposes to be otherwise. According to the Los Angeles Times, as the hurdles were removed, “Reid received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Whittemore.” Yet, Harry Reid’s office said that Harvey Whittemore was treated, “no differently than any other developer.” We will take a look at the other Power Rangers and their dealings in future columns.
UPDATE: Harvey Whittemore and his lawyers threatened a $100 million plus dollar lawsuit and so got their way despite the public vote of the Sparks City Council. The project is going through.
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