New book by political analyst says Jones rejected job bait

Former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones was offered the coveted post of Nevada Gaming Commission chairwoman to stay out of the 1998 race for governor, a new book by political analyst Jon Ralston asserts.

Ralston wrote that the man behind Gov. Kenny Guinn's election, longtime political mover and shaker Sig Rogich, sought to eliminate - through the offer of the high-profile state job - the one Democrat who had a chance to defeat Guinn.

Rogich denied that he offered Jones a job. ''Jon gives me much too much credit,'' Rogich said, adding that Jones' future was discussed during one of several coffee chats he had with her months before she announced her candidacy for governor.

Rogich also said Guinn was not informed about his meetings with Jones.

Jones, now an executive for Harrah's gaming company, said of her meetings with Rogich, ''We talked about a lot of things. I knew the Kenny Guinn team did not want me to run for governor, but if I had based my decision (to run or not to run) on something that was said over a cup of coffee, I would have to have been either naive or foolish.''

Ralston, who writes a column for the Las Vegas Sun and ''The Ralston Report'' political newsletter, said ''The Anointed One: An Inside Look at Nevada Politics,'' his first book, deals more with the people behind the scenes than the politicians.

''The book examines how Kenny Guinn was anointed as governor three years before he ran,'' Ralston said. ''It is about how the process is fairly unchangeable. The people involved are talented and ruthless. They present a good public image but behind the scenes they do almost whatever it takes to get their candidates elected.''