A Nevada State Senator Keeps Her Day Job

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MADELEINE BRAND, host:

This is DAY TO DAY. I'm Madeleine Brand.

Most politicians try to smooth over their peculiarities, but in Nevada, flashy eccentricities can be a virtue when running for office. The state has a lieutenant governor who moonlights as a cabaret singer, and the mayor of Las Vegas is a former mob lawyer.

NPR's Adam Burke, reports on a state senator who is a public servant, in more ways than one.

ADAM BURKE reporting:

The Nevada state legislature convenes, every other year, for four months, and the next session won't start until this coming February. So catching state senator Maggie Carlton in action, means grabbing a table at the coffee shop in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.

These are the mid-morning hours, when eggs-over-easy start giving ground to chicken-fried steak.

State Senator MAGGIE CARLTON (State Senator, Nevada and Waitress): How are you today? My name's Maggie. I'm going to be your server. Are you ready to order?

Ms. CARLTON: Very, very rarely, will the people that I'm waiting on, have any idea what I do in my other life.

BURKE: Most of Carlton's co-workers do know, of course. Some even call her Senator Maggie, though not usually when there's hot food on hot plates.

Ms. CARLTON: You about ready? Skillet…

Mr. STAN COPELAND(ph) (Line Cook): Waiting on a chicken sandwich.

Ms. CARLTON: Waiting on the chicken? Okay. I'll go get my toast.

BURKE: Stan Copeland, one of the line cooks, loves having a state senator who pours coffee for a living.

Mr. COPELAND: We've got somebody speaking for us on a higher level. Not just a local - no, but I'm talking about in the state senate. You know. She bring up questions that other senators probably wouldn't bring up, because they don't know about the nine-to-five working people, you know. Because she's the one been there. I mean, if Maggie wasn't doing it, who would do it?

Ms. CARLTON: Behind you.

BURKE: Maggie Carlton says she's often approached by co-workers, folks who want the lowdown on the latest slate of candidates, or help navigating a maze of governmental bureaucracy. And, just about anyone else who's got a political gripe.

Ms. CARLTON: And then they catch me at the toaster, because that's kind of the conversation central - at the toaster, when you're standing there waiting for the toast to toast. But it's usually one of those things, if I'm busy, it's like, I'll be right back. Give me a few minutes. I've got to go serve this oatmeal and toast.

BURKE: Maggie Carlton didn't get to the senate on her own, at least not initially. She ran for office in 1998 with the help of Nevada's most powerful trade union, the Culinary Worker's Union.

Carlton, who's a shop steward, says the union leadership was looking for one of its own, to put on the ballot.

Ms. CARLTON: They wanted someone who clocked in for a living, and who understood running to PTA meetings, trying to do the Girl Scout thing, getting kids to school on time - all those types of things.

BURKE: Having a legislature that meets every other year, for just 120 days, is part of what gives Nevada its colorful brand of politics. In the state senate and house, alongside the predictable cast of lawyers and businessman, you can find schoolteachers, sheep ranchers, and firefighters. And then there's Carlton, who's stayed true to her constituency, according to those who follow Nevada politics.

Ms. ERIN NEFF (Political Reporter, Las Vegas Review Journal): You can watch. Anytime there's a floor debate, Senator Carlton will get up there, and she will remind people that she works for a living, that she punches a clock for a living, and pours coffee to make ends meet.

BURKE: Erin Neff, a political reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal, says Las Vegas' rapid growth over the last decade has created opportunities for newcomers like Carlton, as the state's political focus shifts southward. But, she adds, even among fellow Democrats, Maggie Carlton is often a lone voice in the wilderness, and loses some senate votes 20 to 1. But Neff also says, Carlton's political savvy and feel for working people, make her a viable candidate for a higher state office, down the road.

Ms. ERIN NEFF: She knows the ins and outs, she knows who to make alliances with, and I give her a lot of credit for being very shrewd, politically.

BURKE: You might ask why Carlton would continue to serve hash browns and bacon, when she's got a bright future as a full-time politician.

Ms. CARLTON: This is what I do for a living. I am a waitress. That's what pays the bills, and I'll keep doing it for a few more years, while my body holds up. And one of these days, it's just going to say, No, you can't lift that 40-pound tray anymore. It's time to retire. Then we'll have to do that.

(Soundbite of Restaurant Noise)

Ms. CARLTON: The fruit cup? And then we have …

BURKE: After 33 years of restaurant work, maybe it is time for a change of day job, and if Maggie Carlton decides to take on Nevada's political establishment on a full-time basis, a background in heavy-lifting may come in handy. Adam Burke, NPR News.

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