Cortez replaces Mulhall as Miller's chief of staff

Mullhall confirmed last week that he was leaving his $92,000-a-year state job. He's taking a post with the Nevada Resort Association, the main lobbying group for major Nevada hotel-casinos.

Cortez has been running Miller's Las Vegas office. A lawyer and daughter of prominent Las Vegan Manny Cortez, she has served on Miller's staff for nearly three years.

The governor said Monday that Cortez knows the ins and outs of Nevada government "and will have no trouble leading this office through what will surely be a very busy final six months."

Miller also praised Mulhall for his nearly 3 1/2 years as his staff chief, saying he led the governor's administration through "some very difficult times" including two legislative sessions.

Mulhall is the latest of several upper-echelon administration officials to recently leave the Miller administration.

Claudia Cormier, director of the state Department of Business and Industry, resigned to go into private industry, and Richard Urey, press secretary for Miller, left to join the campaign staff for congressional candidate Shelley Berkley.

Gordon Absher took over Urey's job, and Misty Young, former public information officer for Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, took over Absher's deputy press secretary job.

Other changes include a decision by Ron Swirczek, director of the state Division of Industrial Relations, to move out of that job to take a position protected by civil service.

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