Bryan discusses life, politics in new book

When Richard Bryan was young, most boys his age wanted to be a cowboy, police officer or professional baseball player when they grew up. But for Bryan, he had his sights set on something a bit out of the ordinary for someone that age. He wanted to be governor.

Bryan shared that story, along with many others during a discussion last Saturday before a packed room at the Boulder City Library.

Bryan was there to discuss his new book, “My Life in Nevada Politics.” The book is co-authored by longtime journalist, author and former Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist, John L. Smith, who was also on hand. The two shared stories about the writing of the book and ended the gathering by signing copies.

Bryan, who will turn 90 next year, was able to fulfill his childhood dream, serving not only as Nevada’s governor, but U.S. senator, state attorney general and state senator.

He praised Smith for the work he did for the book, especially because it wasn’t something Bryan was sure he wanted to do.

“John L. Smith was absolutely delightful to work with,” Bryan said. “I had apprehensions because I thought maybe he’d want to change this and that, and maybe this sounds better. To the contrary, John was extremely helpful and he made a much better book out of it than had I done it myself.”

Bryan is as close to a Nevada native as one can get without having been born here. When his family moved to Las Vegas in 1942, he said the population wasn’t much greater than Boulder City is now. He would graduate from Las Vegas High School, where he served as class president in the eighth, 10th and 12th grades. He would graduate from the University of Nevada before going on to law school, following in his father’s footsteps.

“Early on my father impressed upon me that there’s an obligation of every citizen in the community to be involved,” he said. “He called that ‘paying your civic rent.’ That stayed with me. It didn’t mean that someone had to be involved in politics but rather whatever passions you have - get involved in the community.”

Move to politics

After working as a public defender, Bryan decided to move ahead with his childhood dream and entered politics. One of the necessities of any would-be politician is fundraising for their campaign. Bryan said that, while necessary, it was something he always hated. But early on, his high school classmate, Jack Binion, son of Benny Binion, believed Bryan would make a good assemblyman and donated $2,000 to this campaign.

That dislike of asking someone for a donation with hat in hand harkened back to his youth. In 1944, he went to the movies with 14 cents his mother had given him. But this was a brand-new theater, which charged 25 cents for admission.

“I went up and down that line of people begging for a penny at a time,” he said. “I got the 25 cents but it scarred me forever, having to ask for money.”

In 1982, after serving as Nevada’s secretary of state and state senator, Bryan fulfilled his childhood dream as he defeated incumbent Robert List to become governor, where he would serve two terms. Bryan said at that time, unless it was for a specific reason, the governor’s mansion in Carson City did not have security. In fact, it was not uncommon on Saturdays for there to be a knock at the door and it was the paper boy collecting on his route.

Another memory regarding the mansion that came to mind involved a high school classmate, Harold Leavitt, who was a high school baseball coach in Las Vegas.

“There’s a knock on the door around dinner time and I go to the door and there’s Howard Leavitt,” he said. “I said, ‘Howard, what the hell are you doing here?’ Out the corner of my eye, I could see a bus. He said, ‘I’m up here (Carson City) for this baseball tournament and the kids don’t believe I know you.’ I said, ‘have them come on in.’ That’s the type of environment it was back then and I loved it. That’s not something that could be done today. It’s a different world.”

Moving on to the U.S. Senate

In 1987, Bryan was encouraged to run for the U.S. Senate by many, including his longtime friend, Harry Reid, who was elected to the Senate just prior. Together, Bryan and Reid would work on many issues together, including the fight against the federal government bringing a nuclear waste repository to Nevada in the late 1980s. Their efforts fell short and Yucca Mountain was chosen over locations in Texas and Washington state. However, the site would not become a repository. So, in the end, their efforts would prove to be successful.

Bryan would also fight for other issues such as preserving public lands and economic development throughout the state.

Stepping away

Bryan chose in 2000 to not run for a third term in the senate. He said a big reason stemmed from the lack of collegiality within politics. He said back then, while issues could be partisan, it wasn’t just about Democrats vs. Republicans as it is today but it was quickly becoming that.

“I felt if this was the future, I didn’t want to be a part of it,” he said, adding that many of his friends in politics had moved on and that he wanted to spend more time with the family now that grandkids had been born.

He said he never regretted putting politics in his rear-view mirror.

When contacted by the Review in the days following the book discussion Smith said, “What a great turnout. It was gratifying to see so many people gather to hear stories from Sen. Bryan. He was really on his game, and I am proud to have taken part in the program.”