By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Former Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick was appointed to the Clark County Commission by Governor Brian Sandoval on Tuesday, August 18. She replaces Tom Collins who has represented District B since 2005.
Collins resigned his seat on August 10. In a letter to Sandoval, he said he was leaving the office “due to family matters.”
In an email to the Progress last week, Collins said that, thus far, he is enjoying his “temporary retirement.”
He explained that he has been devoting time to care for his 84 year old mother after recently helping her move to Las Vegas from Oklahoma where she has lived for ten years. Additionally, he said he would be travelling to Texas in the coming months to help his 88 year old father to relocate closer to family and other services.
Collins said that he was pleased with the appointment of Kirkpatrick to fill the seat. He was confident that she would serve the residents of District B well on the commission, he said.
“Time will show how well this is going to work out for all of us,” Collins said.
Kirkpatrick, who resides in North Las Vegas, is respected by colleagues on both sides of the aisle. She was first elected to the State Assembly in 2004. She served as speaker of the Assembly in 2013 and as Democratic minority leader this year after Republicans took control of the body in the 2014 election cycle.
“Throughout her tenure in the Nevada State Assembly, Marilyn Kirkpatrick earned a solid reputation for her in-depth policy knowledge and tremendous hard work,” said Sandoval last week in a written statement. “She built bipartisan relationships and her record of accomplishment serves as a constant reminder of how effective we can be when we work together.”
Other colleagues in the legislature also held Kirkpatrick in high esteem. Republican senator Pete Goicoechea; whose vast, rural District 35 includes Logandale and Moapa; said that he had worked with Kirkpatrick during his eight years in the Assembly, and during the last two sessions when he was serving in the Senate.
“She is a great person to work with,” Goicoechea said in an interview with the Progress. “Having served as speaker, she probably understands the process in Carson City as well as anyone and she has the connections to do an exceptional job of bringing Clark County and the rest of the state together. I think that her appointment will bode well for all of Clark County.”
State Senator Joe Hardy, who represents Overton as part of his district, said that Kirkpatrick had always taken her job at the legislature very seriously.
“I don’t think that there was anyone in the legislature who worked harder or who was better prepared than Marilyn,” Hardy said. “She always had a strong grasp of the issues and worked hard to represent her district and the state. I think that the Governor made a strong choice for the Commission seat.”
Assemblyman James Oscarson, who also represents Logandale and Moapa said he has worked well with Kirkpatrick in the past two sessions at the Legislature.
“I have found her to be a fair and honest leader,” Oscarson said last week in an interview. “She has always been engaged about rural issues and I think that she will be an asset to the rural areas of her district. She is approachable. She returns calls. And she is engaged with the people she represents. I think that the Moapa and Virgin Valley communities will be very excited to have her representing them.”
Oscarson said that he had reached out to Kirkpatrick last week and planned to make a trip out to the Moapa Valley communities to introduce her to the people.
Kirkpatrick was not available for comment on her plans for making the transition last week. But she did reach out to at least one community leader. Overton business owner Judy Metz, who currently serves on the Overton Power District Board, said that she had a good phone conversation with Kirkpatrick on how to become acquainted with the communities in the northeast county.
Metz said that Kirkpatrick is planning to hold a community meet and greet in the coming weeks. She also plans to make a tour of the various town advisory boards to introduce herself to the members of the community, Metz added.
“She seemed to be very aware of our unique rural traits and committed to representing those differences,” Metz said. “I think she is interested in listening to us and finding out what we want for our communities.”
