No first-day drama

CARSON CITY — It was the drama that wasn’t.

Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, was unanimously elected speaker of the Nevada Assembly this morning, in a vote that drew a larger than usual crowd to the Assembly chamber in anticipation of the drama of a leadership fight that fizzled.

In the end, everybody — liberal and conservative, Republican and Democrat, veteran and newbie — cast ballots for Hambrick on the floor, the way speakers have been elected for decades. (That makes Assemblyman Ty Cobb’s ill-considered “no” vote against Barbara Buckley as the first female speaker of the Assembly in 2007 the only dissenting vote on record.)

But when the moment of truth came today, everything went exactly as planned: Assemblyman Randy Kirner, R-Reno, nominated Hambrick; Assemblyman Paul Anderson, R-Las Vegas, moved that nominations be closed, and the Assembly voted unanimously to elect Hambrick.

There wasn’t even a hint of the shenanigans that were rumored for weeks, especially a conservative rival for the speakership, or a divided leadership vote that would have pitted conservatives against moderate Republicans and Democrats in electing Hambrick, or even (the longest of long shots) a compromise Democratic candidate.

After that vote, everything resembled a normal first day, with the usual speeches full of lofty rhetoric and hope for the future. “Today, we officially turn our attention to the people’s business,” Anderson said, adding that while hard-fought partisan campaigning may have brought 42 members to the building, it wouldn’t help their work now that they were there. “Now is the time to get to work.”

Former Speaker (and current Minority Leader) Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, warned that plenty of hard work and “tough conversations” awaited lawmakers. “But let’s work on the things that we can agree to do together,” she said.

Hambrick started his tenure with a typically humble question — “who’d a thunk?” — and a lofty speech of his own. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are here for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to serve the people of the great state of Nevada,” he said. “We don’t own these seats, we only occupy them.”

But Hambrick’s most sincere moment came later in the proceedings, as some parents walked their fidgety toddlers out of the Assembly chamber. “That is why we’re here,” he said, pointing to the kids.

Outside the chambers, Hambrick told a throng of media that he encouraged his colleagues to listen to the debate over taxes in committee hearings and then make up their own minds about the issue. “I’m fully confident that we will come together as an Assembly to get what’s best for the state,” Hambrick said.

Asked if he felt a responsibility to get Gov. Brian Sandoval’s tax plan through his house, the way Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, has said he does in the upper house, Hambrick stopped short of a yes. “I have guaranteed to the governor that his bills will get full and impartial hearings before our committees,” Hambrick said.

Although he’s been targeted by a recall committee that may seek to oust him from his Assembly seat and the speaker’s chair, Hambrick was nonplussed about the politics. “I’m here for the people,” he said simply.

Then again, Hambrick has to deal with the spiraling story about the alleged extortion of one of his members, Las Vegas Republican Chris Edwards, as well as maneuverings over the possibility of mid-session redistricting that could change political dynamics in the coming election (instead of waiting until the 2020 census, as usual).

Hambrick confirmed some members expressed concerns about members wearing a wire while in caucus meetings, and he made a point to tell Edwards to be mindful of those concerns. (Edwards reportedly wore a wire during a Metro Police investigation into the extortion allegations.)