Former Nevada Assemblyman James Spinello remembered as trusted confidante
Former Nevada Assemblyman James Spinello died of cancer Wednesday, leaving a legacy as an approachable legislator and trusted confidante among his colleagues. He was 67.
Spinello’s public service roots stretched back decades. After winning his first election in 1986, he served four years in the Assembly representing a Las Vegas district. His relatively short tenure in the Legislature belies the breadth of his work there on issues such as education and mental health reforms.
As chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, Spinello, a Democrat, played a central role in getting legislation passed that focused on reducing class sizes in public schools.
“He had a great knowledge of government and how it works and what’s important, and he presented it in a very thorough, passionate and complete way,” former Gov. Bob Miller said in an interview Thursday. “He was well-respected by his peers because he was so thoughtful.”
In Nevada’s rough and tumble political world, Spinello had the respect and trust of U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., for decades. Titus was in the state Senate during part of Spinello’s Assembly career.
“He was not only a dear friend of mine, but also a political confidante,” Titus said in an interview. “You can’t trust many people in politics, and I trusted him totally.”
Spinello was born on Sept. 11, 1949, in Cleveland and was proud of his Sicilian heritage and traveled to Sicily.
“He believed that loyalty was very important,” Titus said. “He was very loyal to me, and I was loyal to him.”
Spinello’s fortunes at the ballot box changed in 1990, when he won the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State but lost in the general election to Republican Cheryl Lau.
Spinello worked for Clark County from 1997 to 2006, when he left to do local lobbying work for Billy Vassiliadis’ firm, R&R Partners. He sta
yed there the rest of his life.
Spinello kept his door open to people from all walks of life, Vassiliadis said.
“Whoever it was, Jim always was there,” Vassiliadis said. “He was empathetic and a true believer that good government can do good things.”
Spinello is survived by two daughters, Lilly Spinello and Chessa Spinello. Service arrangements are pending.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
