Bill Raggio, legendary Nevada politician, dies
Bill Raggio, who is considered by many to be the most powerful force in Nevada politics over the last 30 years, has died while on vacation in Australia Thursday evening. He was 85.
Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun broke the news.
Raggio was first elected to the Nevada State Senate in 1972. He resigned from the seat he held for 38 years after supporting Democrat Harry Reid in 2010 over Republican Sharron Angle.
Raggio ruled the Nevada State Senate as the GOP leader and chairman of the Finance Committee. It's safe to say that few bills passed the Nevada Legislature in the last 30 years without his approval.
Raggio's legislative biography is here.
RGJ has posted a profile with photo gallery on Raggio's life.
Best quote: "You show me someone who doesn't have detractors, and I'll show you someone who hasn't done a damn thing in their lives."
Gov. Brian Sandoval released this statement:
“With the death of Senator Bill Raggio, one of the great lights in the world of Nevada politics has gone out. Senator Raggio's career exemplified the very best of public service. His dedication to law and order, higher education, and the fiscal health of this great state spanned literally decades of Nevada history and touched the lives of tens of thousands of Nevadans. Kathleen and I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the Raggio family in their time of mourning. I have said before that if there was a Mount Rushmore of Nevada politics, Bill Raggio's image would forever be carved there. The Nevada family has lost a great patriarch; may God rest his soul as we remember all that he meant to our state.”
Sandoval and Raggio also worked for the same law firm, Jones Vargas. Raggio is widely credited with recruiting Sandoval to give up a lifetime appointment to the federal bench to run against sitting GOP Gov. Jim Gibbons, who frequently clashed with Raggio.
Here is what U.S. Sen Dean Heller said about Raggio's death:
“I am deeply saddened by the death of Bill Raggio. There are no words to describe his dedication to the state of Nevada and I wish to express my deepest condolences and prayers for his wife Dale, and his family. Bill was a true statesman who dedicated his life to making Nevada a better place to live. His legacy will be remembered for generations to come.”
- Brian Sandoval
- Career
- Death
- dedication
- Democrat
- died
- Family
- finance
- gallery
- GOP
- Health
- Higher Education
- law firm
- life
- live
- lost
- May
- Nevada
- Nevada history
- Nevada Legislature
- Nevada Politics
- News
- news
- Order
- Politics
- public
- Public Service
- Republican
- run
- Safe
- Senate
- service
- Sharron Angle
- Show
- soul
- state
- State of Nevada
- sun
- U
- Dean Heller
- Education
- Gibbons
- history
- Jim Gibbons
- Las Vegas
- Las Vegas Sun
- Legislature
- Harry Reid