MIKE O=CALLAGHAN
Mike O=Callaghan was interviewed on April 14, 2000. Mike=s a gruff guy on the surface, but kind and fair underneath. When I went to interview him, I brought my camera to record the interview into his office and he said, AI didn=t know you were going to bring a camera. There=s no way I=m doing this. I=m not doing it.@ Taken aback, I said, ABut I told you I was bringing a camera.@ ANo way.@ Then it=s, AAll right, set it up.@ He=s a Marine, an ex-Marine.
AHe looks like brawler. It looks like he=d kick the shit out of you, doesn=t he? He=s a tough guy. He=s been around forever. Beloved Governor. O=Callaghan was really the last powerful, move-forward Governor who didn=t piss off everyone. Everyone remembers O=Callaghan fondly.@ (Dayvid Figler, personal communication, September 6,2000)
The interview took place in his office, which is full of stories in itself. There are stacks of papers and sundry other things everywhere. The desk was piled high, mounded with paper. An active, possibly mischievous mind was at work here.
Mr. O’Callaghan recently passed away. It was a tough loss for the community.
What affects community life in Las Vegas? Well, that=s something else. Because of the 24-hour clock, you have more latchkey-type kids. They are going from school to home, cooking their own meals and, in some cases, getting up in the morning by themselves. Our 24-hour town affects all of our lives. This town is thriving because of the people who have come into it. I=ve seen a change in its complexion. There are more Spanish-speaking people here. In fact, there=s more Spanish-speaking people here now than there are Afro-Americans. You realize Afro-Americans came here to work on the dam and in the plants out in Henderson. This was the AMississippi of the West@ as some people described it, through the =50s and early =60s. But, you didn=t really have a blend. Now you have more of a blend. Afro-Americans are living all over town. Spanish-speaking people have certain areas they live in because they come from the same area of Mexico, or from Cuba, and so on.
We=ve become more aware of the rest of the world, so we have become concerned about how they view us. At one time we really didn=t give a damn how the rest of the world viewed us. But over the years we=ve come to the conclusion that our success is affected by how the rest of the world sees us. Things have changed here.
What is the relationship between communication and community?
In the newspaper business you have two jobs. You reflect things that the community is feeling and hurting over, and on the other hand you have a responsibility to lead. You have a responsibility to point out something that=s wrong, and then answer to it. If there=s 20 people out there being mistreated and the rest of the community thinks they ought to be mistreated, that doesn=t make it right. It=s our job to take them on. There is such a thing as abuse by the majority; sometimes the majority can be wrong. If we feel the majority is wrong, it=s our job to point out that they=re wrong and help lead them out of it. On the other hand, we still reflect the overall views of the community in a lot of other respects. So it=s not just a simple, single path that you go down.
We continually struggle to protect what we have here. It=s easy to say Nevada only has a few votes, therefore we=ll put the nuke waste out there. Before anybody else in the state, Hank Greenspun took on the nuke waste fight. We can thank heavens that he did. That=s a big thing. Besides hurting a lot of people between here and where it comes from, it can destroy what we have here. I don=t think there=s one moment that we all at once woke up and saw we=re a new state. Everything, like a mosaic, has made us what we are today. That mosaic is not yet completed. You=re going to contribute to that mosaic. If I have a few more years around, I=ll help contribute to it. So will my children and grandchildren.