Sen. Maurice Washington's service
and style has become a model
for conservatives to follow
BY MIKE ZIGLER

In a legislature full of wannabes and misguided hopefuls, state Sen. Maurice Washington's ideas and voice are breaths of fresh air.

A Republican from the northern Nevada community of Sparks, Washington is an entrepreneur of faith and optimism. He is deeply imbedded into the fabric of Nevada politics, serving five special sessions and six regular. He even endured health troubles in the last special session to accommodate an impeachment hearing. He is enthusiastic about his family, yet as a public servant, Washington admits family extends beyond his wife and four children. Rather, it becomes the 2 million-plus citizens residing in our ever-growing Silver State.

Eighteen years ago, Washington founded a church known today as the Center of Hope Christian Fellowship. Mention the parish to Washington and you're certain to experience a litany of descriptions that vary from humble to spiritual.

"The church is a lively church," Washington said, lost in words. "They are a great bunch of people who are fun and exciting to be around. They have a love and passion for the lord that is second to none. It's been great being a pastor for them."

The former wide receiver for the University of Nevada, Reno Wolfpack, Washington said he believed as a child that serving his higher power was always a path he intended to pursue. "I just really became inspired and wanted to follow it further," he said. "Eighteen years ago, I decided to take the leap."

And with a similar passion, Washington decided to make another jump - this time into community service. He entered politics.

In the mid-'90s, Washington spoke to an audience of great influence and magnitude. With his charismatic style and innovative words, he described to fellow Republicans at a state convention why he switched parties less than a decade prior, during an era he notes as the "Reagan Revolution."

"Basically I was tired of being a victim," Washington said. "Later I got a call from Sens. Bill Raggio and Randolph Townsend, asking me to run for the seat as a Republican. I took them up on it."

That was in 1994, and since, Washington has proved to be an effective leader. From welfare reform to education, Washington hasn't offered scripted speaking points; he's delivered a solid performance. 

Take, for example, his approach on crime. Then-Sen. Mark James sponsored the truth-in-sentencing bill. Sentences were tough to translate, so Washington, among others, sought to clarify rulings.

"When a judge imposed a sentence on a felon, the public didn't know whether it meant the criminal was going to do 10 years, five years or if he would be out in two years because of good behavior," Washington explained. "Opposed to what other states did, we wanted to have our truth-in-sentencing have some meaning, but also have some leeway for probation."

Effective for crimes committed after July 1, 1995, Nevada's truth-in-sentencing law requires all offenders to serve 100 percent of their minimum prison term prior to becoming eligible for parole release. Offenders are allowed to earn good-time reductions off the maximum prison sentence, but not the minimum.

"So when a judge sentenced somebody to 20 years, you knew that person was going to serve at least 40 percent of that sentence before he was even eligible for parole," Washington said. "And if he wasn't eligible, he would have to serve his whole sentence. If he broke his probation, he would have to come back in and serve the remainder of his time."

The state Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Washington is particularly tough on sex offenders. Nevada increased sentences against pedophiles because of testimony from national experts that there is no cure to the condition, Washington said. In April, he discounted one therapist's claim that through individual and group therapy, sex offenders can relearn social skills and therefore not "re-offend."

"Once you become a hard-core pedophile, you repeat again and again," Washington said. "Instead of putting the criminal in front, we put public safety first."

On welfare reform, Washington worked with then-Rep. John Ensign. They pushed a major package for welfare reform, and while it failed the first session, Gov. Bob Miller essentially picked up the framework then rebuilt it as his bill, which passed. 

"Basically the planks in my bill went into Miller's bill," Washington said. "The basic gist of the bill was that you aren't going to make a lifestyle living on welfare. The push was to help you up, and get you a job."

The intent was to break a cycle of dependency that welfare creates, Washington continued. Welfare was dramatically increasing and there was a segment of the population abusing it. A fiscal conservative, Washington ensured that this problem didn't rip off Nevada taxpayers.

"Most people like to say they're going to make some changes," Washington said, "and I think that I have been effective in doing that and still maintain my conservative values."

For Washington, the solution to Nevada's educational crisis is simple: Give parents choices. Currently, state schools are too administratively heavy, Washington said, and that places the system in limbo. 

Perhaps the most fundamentally flawed idea is the all-too-common one that suggests a voucher system gives public dollars to completely unmonitored private schools. This means there is no such right to expect or demand accountability for student performance or how tax dollars are spent. Washington is quick to point out the misconception with this argument - competition creates accountability. 

Private schools may be "unmonitored" by bureaucrats, but they face the most demanding kind of supervision our society provides: a market full of freely choosing individuals. Parents' desire for a good education for their children is a much more powerful check on schools than any politician's law or union rule, Washington explained. 

Rather than talk about accountability, Washington wants to implement real accountability - the kind where if a student or parent realizes a school isn't doing its job, he can find another one.

"We never did get vouchers passed," Washington said. "We did get some sort of a bill passed for school choice, just not to the extent that I would like."

Washington feels the teachers union interferes in any true progress with public education. While the union preaches that its intent is to ensure free and accessible education to all children, regardless of income or geography, the group is misguiding the public. In a voucher system, free, accessible and quality education is what school choice would provide. If the education dollars were attached to the student, then parents could pick a school for their kids regardless of geography or income. Today, geography is often the only determining factor in a child's assignment to a public school. With school choice, Washington said parents might be able to send their children to any school within commuting range, not just the one in their school zone.

"Parents want choice and I want choice," he shared. "I want to be able to select and choose what type of school my kids will attend and meets my needs. That means you give me the money in the form of a voucher and allow me to make the decision of where I want to send my kids to school - public, charter, private, sectarian or nonsectarian. Give me the opportunity to make that choice and I guarantee you will see public education dramatically improve."

The major bill that Washington helped pass involved charter schools. A charter school is a publicly funded school that, in accordance with an enabling state statute, has been granted a charter exempting it from selected state or local rules and regulations. A charter school is typically governed by a group or organization (like a group of educators, a corporation or a university) under a contract or charter with the state.
Washington worked on that for several sessions to get the issue to where it is now. As he explained, "It's still tough, but it's a lot better than it used to be."


While most issues Washington addresses impact the state as a whole, he doesn't forget about his district residents in Sparks. While there are always the examples of helping out a constituent individually and passing major bills that ensure highway construction in a specific area, a significant issue that particularly affected Washington's district included a nitrate problem in a part of Sparks known as Spanish Springs. 

In April 2000, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection told Washoe County some 2,000 homes in Spanish Springs must be hooked to sewers because of high nitrate levels. Cost per home was estimated at between $10,000 and $15,000. 

"The residents who lived in that particular area did not have the money to invert or hook up to the sewer system that was going through Spanish Springs," Washington explained. "So we finally blocked off some state funds to help these people out."


Washington is ambitious for the future. In 2007, he intends to personally tackle growth-related infrastructure needs. 

"This session, of course because of the growth within the state, there are a couple of issues that have percolated up to the top like transportation needs, highway maintenance and construction," Washington said. "Another issue that I think has been lingering in the back is healthcare, trying to deal with the rising costs and affordability."

He wants to make sure the under-insured become insured, and the mentally ill don't use emergency rooms as primary caregivers. 

"We need to come up with a comprehensive strategy for the entire state that is going to meet the needs of its citizens - those who have health insurance and those who don't have health insurance - so the costs are not spread entirely upon the backs of those who do have healthcare," Washington said. "It's a balancing act, but there are those of us who still believe the market place is the best place for dealing with healthcare issues."

This respect for the free market has, in turn, earned Washington respect among his conservative colleagues. Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said that with more Nevadans like Washington in the legislature, true progress can be made.

"Maurice is a stand-up guy," Raggio said. "He is always looking to move forward, and that's a trait uncommon in politics."

Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, shared similar sentiments.

"Finding someone more compassionate and qualified to serve Nevada than Maurice would be a tremendous feat," Townsend said. "Maurice is among the best public servants I have had the pleasure of working with."

A humble man, Washington sometimes thinks about the day when he doesn't return to Carson City. He is content with life's offerings, knowing he has been successful in many arenas.

"I think once my term is up or the citizenry decides that they want to elect somebody else, I will go back and get a degree in theology," he concluded. 

"I think I'm like everybody else. I've had great achievements in the church, and in my legislative career as a public servant. But I'm certain my greatest achievement and what I'm most proud of is that I had an opportunity to raise my children. They've become productive and that's probably more satisfying than anything else I've accomplished."