Thankfully, term limits haven’t taken away Bruce Woodbury yet

The consensus holds that the commissioner who has been on the commission since 1981 and on Sept. 4 becomes the longest continuously serving county commissioner in Nevada, is that rarity … an honest politician.

Woodbury and Commissioner Chip Maxfield opposed the controversial CVS zone change that Commissioner Erin Kenny confessed she promoted in exchange for a $200,000 bribe.

The four commissioners who voted for the zone change Nov. 7, 2001, were Kenny, Dario Herrera, Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and Myrna Williams. Yvonne Atkinson Gates was absent.

Williams was not charged with anything in the corruption probe. Kenny admitted taking the $200,000 bribe and faces a prison term. Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey are in prison on unrelated corruption charges. Atkinson Gates is being investigated, also on unrelated issues.

When Woodbury runs for re-election in 2008, it will be his first time on the ballot since the corruption trials that have made the public increasingly cynical about politicians. Voters in District A do mention it.

“They bring it up in a strange way,” Woodbury said Thursday. “They bring it up by thanking me. And it embarrasses me. Because honesty and integrity ought to be the lowest common denominator for anybody seeking office.

“They say: We really appreciate you’ve never been involved in any of that and we know you’re honest. I say: Thanks, but don’t you feel you should be able to just expect that?”

He speaks as a man who during two FBI investigations has seen six county commissioners judged corrupt, while his reputation stayed stellar.

Woodbury, 62, with the exception of one brutal Republican primary race in 1984, has had minimal opposition. Traditionally he raises a boatload of money and prepares for a tough race, but the bipartisan support behind the lawyer discourages challenges from Democrats and Republicans.

Woodbury, a Boulder City resident, is respected for his vision and progressive work on flood control and transportation and for recognizing long-range problems, calculating ways to pay for solutions and convincing others, including the voting public, it’s the right thing to do.

When it rains and my street doesn’t flood, I think of the 1986 ballot question for flood control he advocated. Every time I drive the Las Vegas Beltway, I silently thank him because I doubt it would exist without his efforts.

In 1990, he was at the forefront on Question 10, the ballot question to fund major road improvements, including the 54-mile Beltway and start a public bus system. In 2002, he proposed another Question 10 for further transportation improvements.

Immediately after the 2007 Legislature ended with a $4 billion transportation shortfall, Woodbury began discussions about another transportation ballot question. I’m confident Woodbury will do what Gov. Jim Gibbons and the 2007 Legislature did not: Create a long-range transportation plan for Nevada.

“There’s nothing definite yet. I want it to be something that will hold up. But not doing anything is not an option,” Woodbury said.

Woodbury has considered running for attorney general, Congress and governor. But he always ended up running for the County Commission.

One reason: His hearing loss. Woodbury has a hereditary hearing loss first noticed when he was in college, which became more significant in the mid-1970s. By the mid-1980s, it became a challenge. A cochlear implant in his right ear in 2002 has helped, and he’s planning to have a second operation on his left ear in November.

At County Commission meetings, he uses both an audio amplifier and a screen with instant captioning. In large groups and loud restaurants, he cannot hear. Some misinterpret his silence as him being standoffish.

“Only in a quiet situation can I carry on a conversation in a meaningful way,” he said.

His 2008 race will be the last for the County Commission because of term limits. Commissioners now can serve no longer than 12 years. If he wins his next election and completes it, he will have been a county commissioner for 31 years.

If term limits had been the law when Bruce Woodbury was first elected, this thoughtful, reasonable man would have been off the commission since 1995. Thinking about what he has done, and may still do, makes me despise term limits all the more.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0275.