It’s not a glamorous job but having the right person at the wheel of the Nevada Taxicab Authority is essential to keeping the visitors flowing smoothly into the great Las Vegas tourism machine.
That job is open these days after the March departure of longtime state employee Ron Grogan. A former director of the state’s Equal Employment Opportunity office, Grogan spent two years supervising the authority’s oversight of 16 Southern Nevada cab companies. The time was punctuated by a withering audit of the authority and regular disagreements with authority board members. Joe “J.D.” Decker was named interim administrator in May for a position that in recent years has come with an “In Service” sign.
The administrator’s position pays $121,000 a year, but from the sound of things the authority’s new leader will earn every penny. Once a cash cow for owners, the Southern Nevada cab industry is down 40 percent in the wake of the rise of ride-share giants Uber and Lyft. It still employs thousands and plays a key transportation role in Southern Nevada – especially along the McCarran International Airport-Strip circuit.
A good administrator must be able to work with the industry without getting run by its powerful personalities. The professionalism and safety of drivers are also an important part of the equation. And supervising the authority’s employees, both civil and commissioned law enforcement, is another integral element.
And while the industry may be in crisis, it doesn’t mean the authority has less to do. It also generates its own budget, which provides another challenge in a state where the definition of ride sharing will evolve with each passing session of the Legislature.
Of course, the administrator also should have budget and legislative experience. And people skills. Lots of people skills. And the ability to work with the taxicab board would be nice.
Not to mention transportation experience.
There is perhaps the most important part of the job: protecting the riding public. Making sure tourists don’t get ripped off by long-hauling drivers is just the start. In fact, the misdirection is only a small part of the drivers’ world.
As authority Chairman Stan Olsen observes, “It’s got to be somebody who’s open-minded enough to understand that the industry has to change, and the board knows it. We need an administrator who is willing to communicate with the board. The board sets the direction and works with the administrator to make sure it gets done. It’s also really critical that whoever gets this position is enough of a people person to support their employees and the work they have to do as long as they’re doing it properly and legally.”
Olsen added the new administrator also must make working with the Nevada Transportation Authority, which oversees Uber and Lyft, a priority.
Five candidates for the administrator’s position were recently interviewed by the board and trimmed to three finalists.
With a decade as an FBI analyst on her resume, Karen Neill is one top contender. She’s also worked less than a year as an assistant administrator for compliance enforcement at the Department of Motor Vehicles. So, she’s obviously accustomed to bureaucratic frustration and dealing with the public.
Byron Goynes is a longtime Las Vegan and former member of the City Planning Commission. He’s worked for Clark County Business Licensing and spent seven years with Veolia Transportation of North Las Vegas as a customer service manager. He’s also testified before the Legislature.
The Goynes interview was memorable, I’m told, because he related an incident in which he called for a cab that never showed up. If he gets the job, I must assume the service will improve.
And there’s Scott Whittemore, a UNLV Boyd School of Law graduate and former small business manager currently employed as a deputy commissioner at the state Division of Mortgage Lending. If that last name sounds familiar, it is because he is the son of former Nevada political insider and lobbyist Harvey Whittemore.
All three finalists showed their strengths and focused on the serious issues facing the industry in a rapidly changing marketplace. Nevada State Department of Business and Industry Director C.J. Manthe will make the final decision.
With much at stake in a changing transportation industry set in the middle of one of the world’s busiest tourism corridors, whoever is chosen figures to have a largely thankless job.
Contact John L. Smith at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
