A week after the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) announced it would employ former Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-NV)-- who left Congress amid an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations-- as its leading lobbyist, some legislators have actually indicated issues about dealing with the previous agent.
That consists of Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), when Kihuen's associate in your house of Representatives, and who, after initial claims against him surfaced in late 2017, contacted him to "step up and do what's right for individuals of Nevada."
" As an independent entity, [CSN] is entitled to make their own hiring choices," Titus said in a statement this week to The Nevada Independent. "To be clear, my office has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment, and Ruben Kihuen is not welcome."
It's not the first time the congresswoman, the longest-serving in Nevada's delegation and an one-time electoral rival to Kihuen in Congressional District 1, has actually spoken publicly about Kihuen's ongoing participation in Nevada politics. Titus-- whose district consists of one of CSN's 3
Las Vegas-area campuses-- said of Kihuen in 2017: "What part of 'no' do not you comprehend?"
CSN revealed on Monday it would hire Kihuen, following an external search procedure. His arrival comes at a critical time for the college, both as it looks for to replace the outgoing President Federico Zaragoza, and as it attempts to secure much better financing in the 2025 legislative session through the first higher education moneying formula modification in more than a years next year.
But Kihuen's hiring raised eyebrows across the state's college system, with at least one state legislator stating she was uneasy with Kihuen's hiring in a job that would bring him to Carson City. As the college's new executive director of federal government affairs, Kihuen's job would need regular, at some point one-on-one meetings with legislators and lobbyists.
That female Democratic legislator-- who asked not to be named, so she could speak easily-- stated she was "shocked" to hear Kihuen was hired by the college.
" There's a lot of females in the structure as legislators, as lobbyists, as interns or staff members," the legislator stated. "To put us in a position where we're making women unpleasant in the structure, I think, is inappropriate."
That legislator added that she thought the hire put CSN "in a truly bad location," making it more difficult for her to either work with or connect to their lobbying team.
" I think as soon as the news came out, a number of people connected to me-- girls that operated in the structure either as previously worked as interns and are wanting to work as staff in the future lobbyists, guys and ladies-- that are just appalled that he 'd be welcomed to our setting, where we should have the ability to feel safe," she included.
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Legislators are not a monolith. Assemblyman Reuben D'Silva (D-North
Las Vegas) told The Nevada Independent that he had actually depended on Kihuen for recommendations throughout his freshman legal session in 2023, which he was grateful that someone with "a good deal of regional engagement" would represent CSN.
" I'm positive," D'Silva stated. "I think he'll serve that function well."
Asked what he would state to other legislators who have raised issues, D'Silva stated that, while other lawmakers implicated of misbehavior "have actually vanished," Kihuen needs to continued to take part in community problems, and that he thought the former agent "has a desire to serve."
" He slipped up," D'Silva stated. "I believe everyone's efficient in making errors. However I think his sense of a dedication to the community has actually never been questioned, and I don't question it."
Kihuen was chosen to Congress in Nevada's 4th Congressional District in 2016 after serving in the state Senate and Assembly. In December 2017, he was accused by a former campaign staffer of unwanted sexual advances and making numerous undesirable advances throughout the 2016 project, according to a report by BuzzFeed News.
Quickly after those initial reports, a female lobbyist shared text with The Nevada Independent in which Kihuen also made repeated, undesirable sexual advances while he was a state senator in 2015.
At the time, several top Democrats-- including then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), then-head of the House Democrats' fundraising arm-- contacted Kihuen to resign. Kihuen rejected the accusations, however within weeks, announced he would bow out of his 2018 re-election campaign. A House ethics examination later on found he broke the chamber's code of conduct.
After the House principles report was made public, Kihuen asked forgiveness and told The Nevada Independent that "it saddens me considerably to believe I made any woman feel that method due to my own immaturity and overconfidence." In 2019, he installed a stopped working run for
Las Vegas City Council that ended after he completed third in that year's main.
Asked about the reaction this week from lawmakers, a CSN spokesperson directed The Nevada Independent to a news release provided Monday after Kihuen's hiring. In that release, Zaragoza said the college was "delighted to bring him on board," and that Kihuen "will be a staunch advocate for our trainees."
"He brings a wealth of knowledge about the ins and outs of federal government relations nationally and in Nevada, which is crucial for someone in this position," the college president said.
Reporter Gabby Birenbaum contributed to this report from
Washington, D.C.
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