|
 Virginia
Valentine has been appointed the next Clark County
Manager.
The
County
Commission
voted unanimously to appoint the longtime local public
official to the position, effective August 11. Valentine
replaces Thom Reilly, who quit to take a position as
vice-chancellor of the University of Nevada Health
Sciences Center for the Nevada System of Higher
Education.
Valentine is the first woman to hold the position and
appears to be the only person to have served as both
Clark
County
manager and city manager for the city of
Las Vegas
.
As
county manager, Valentine will be responsible for the
executive oversight of a government that provides both
regional and municipal-type services to more than 1.8
million residents and 38 million tourists per year.
If unincorporated
Clark
County
were a city, it would be the largest in the state.
As
the county’s chief executive officer, Valentine will
carry out the policies established by the seven-member
County
Commission
. She will be responsible for the fiscal management of
the county’s $5.9 billion budget and the
administrative oversight for 38 diverse and
geographically dispersed departments, including
McCarran
International
Airport
and
University
Medical
Center
, and more than 10,000 employees.
“
Virginia
is someone we all have confidence in,” said
Commissioner Bruce Woodbury. “She has a very extensive
knowledge of all aspects of local government. She also
understands that she’s there to be a servant of the
people, and she takes that obligation seriously.”
Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates agreed:
“I’m excited to see
Virginia
as our next county manager. It’ll be nice to have a
woman in the position. She’ll bring a new perspective
to things.”
Commissioner Chip Maxfield said he was glad a see a
fellow engineer in the job. “
Virginia
has a remarkably wide range of experience in local
government and the local private sector,” he said.
“It’s difficult to think how anyone could be more
prepared to become county manager. Of course, as an
engineer and a member of the regional flood control
district, I especially appreciate her credentials.”
Valentine has served in local government off and on
since serving as chief engineer and general manager
(March 1986 through August 1993) of the Clark County
Regional Flood Control District, which she played a key
role in forming.
Commissioner
Tom Collins said that Valentine’s “experience,
talent, abilities and hard work make her the obvious
choice.”
Valentine said she was "honored and humbled"
by the opportunity, adding that she was glad to inherit
a strong senior management team and a "highly
skilled group of department heads." Valentine added
that the "integrity and stability of this board
weighted heavily in my decision" to accept the job.
“I look forward to serving this board and the citizens
of this community,” she said.
Valentine has been one of three assistant county
managers since November 2002, reporting directly to
Reilly and responsible for the departments of Air
Quality and Environmental Management, Comprehensive
Planning, Development Services, Fire, Public Works, Real
Property Management, Recorder and the Water Reclamation
District, among others.
She also has been responsible for coordinating with the
flood control district, the Regional Transportation
Commission and the Las Vegas Valley Water District and
has been chairwoman of the Regional Planning Coalition
Workforce Housing Committee and the county
representative to the Las Vegas Events Center Task
Force. Previous department assignments included
Information Technology, Election,
University
Medical
Center
, Parks and Recreation, Public Guardian, Social Service
and Family Services.
“I’m
pleased that someone of
Virginia
’s caliber will be taking my place,” Reilly said.
“She will be a very effective leader for the
county.”
Before
joining
Clark
County
, Valentine served as senior vice president of
government affairs for the Las Vegas Chamber of
Commerce, where she was responsible for formulating
positions on public policy issues, overseeing the Center
for Polling and Research, and lobbying state and local
governments on business issues. She worked there from
July through November 2002.
Prior
to that, Valentine was city manager for the city of
Las Vegas
. During her tenure there from June 1998
through July 2002, Valentine was responsible for the
operations, administration and direction of the city’s
16 departments and 2,800 employees.
Valentine
joined the city after working for the engineering firm
of PBSJ for nearly five years (August 1993 through June
1998). There, she was senior vice president for the
Western region and joined the firm after serving more
than seven years overseeing the flood control district.
Valentine
has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the
University
of
Idaho
and a master’s degree in public administration from
the
University
of
Nevada
,
Las Vegas
.
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