Friday, May 23, 2003 | 5:13 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- The political world has jumped out of textbooks and into private caucus meetings for six University of Nevada, Las Vegas students and graduates interning in the middle of the 2003 Legislature's action.
The interns, ages 21 to 23, don't just get to talk about the political process in the state capital, they get to research bills, watch leaders in action and even testify for a chance to turn some paperwork into a law.
"This might just be the best class we've ever had," Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said. "They are all so bright and energetic and really are more like staff than interns."
Titus, a UNLV political science professor, recruited the interns from among her students to provide administrative assistance through a difficult 120-day session.
But for Heather Branagan, Abel Carlos, Lon Enright, Antonio Gutierrez, Keku Kamalani and Brian Woodson, the four months of stressful work isn't just a temporary job, but an eye-opener into the world each wants to pursue.
Four of the interns live at the Carson Nugget, paying for rent and food out of the $6,000 stipend offered them for the session through the UNLV Foundation. Carlos and Gutierrez share an apartment and split the costs through their stipend. Those still in college can get credit.
"It's not going very far," Branagan said.
Gutierrez, 21, almost didn't take the offer. The youngest of eight children and the first to go to college, he was reluctant to be away from his family for months. He sat down with Carlos, his best friend, and they decided to decline the internship.
"Professor, I mean, Senator Titus really convinced us that this was the place to be," Gutierrez said. "And, I now agree that I couldn't have done something better."
Gutierrez, who interns for Titus, hopes to graduate in December with a degree in political science, but the connections he's made in Carson City could lead him to a prestigious scholarship and advanced degree work.
The other interns also took assignments with Democrats -- something Titus stresses she did not devise.
"We don't ask them their party registration, we just ask who they'd like to work for," Titus said.
Branagan, 23, graduated in December with a degree in political science and decided an internship would help her figure out her future.
She was assigned to Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and immediately agreed to the description those around her gave of her new boss.
"Everybody said brilliant, and that's the word I would use," Branagan said. "She's a dynamic leader."
Branagan said she's suddenly found herself interested in consumer protection bills and in law school.
"Before I came up here, I thought there was a 40 percent chance I'd go," Branagan said. "After meeting a lot of lawyers up here, it just seems it's a more multipurpose profession than I had thought."
Buckley said she can't say enough about Branagan, whom she has been needling all session to attend law school.
"She just picked up everything lightning quick," Buckley said. "She loves the behind the scenes and that's what everybody who loves politics likes about it."
Woodson, 23, a senior political science major, also wants to go to law school. But it wasn't the lawyers who really struck him during his internship for Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson.
"It's interesting that a lot of the lawmakers are actually small business owners, and all of the Assembly members I met belong here," Woodson said.
Woodson has had his hands full with Perkins' legislation, testifying on several bills and watching as one he passionately researched ran into a wall.
When Woodson testified in favor of a bill that would prohibit an insurer from basing an auto insurance rate on ZIP codes, he was so into his presentation he didn't realize he had already lost his audience -- the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee which had already heard hours worth of other testimony on other bills.
Committee Chairman David Goldwater asked Woodson to wrap it up -- three separate times.
Woodson energetically continued, paging rapidly through his report for "a really cool stat."
Enright was taking one of Titus' classes last year when the professor asked the students to go work on any campaign to see how that side of the political world works.
"I looked at the signs around where I lived and the only Democrat I saw was David Parks," Enright recalled.
When he learned Parks was regarded highly for his work on tax and budget issues, Enright thought he found a respected person to follow. When he learned Parks was the only openly gay legislator, he knew he wanted to work with him.
"I was raised by lesbian parents and I'm very big into civil rights," Enright said. "When I met him, though, I was so amazed by his intelligence, I thought I'd love to keep working for him."
Enright, 22, is a college junior who was suddenly thrust into the tax crisis headfirst by answering Parks' calls from upset taxpayers.
Now he's planning on graduating, going to law school and running for the state Assembly -- perhaps when term limits begin in 2012, and the Legislature loses some of its most experienced lawmakers.
Carlos is the baby of the group, having turned 21 this session. He hopes to get a degree in political science in December 2004.
He is the first person in his family to graduate high school.
Carlos and Gutierrez had worked on several Democratic campaigns before taking the internship, and have spent the past four months learning about what happens to those who get elected.
"I'm surprised at all of the 42-0 votes in the Assembly," Carlos said. "Supposedly the Republicans hate the Democrats and vice versa, but that's just not what happens up here."
Carlos is not against a future bid for office himself, but would rather hit business school and open the business of his dreams: a bowling alley with a retractable roof open to starlit nights.
Perkins said Woodson and Carlos are two of the best interns he's known. "They have really learned a lot here, and their growth and maturity over the past four months is really impressive," Perkins said.
The interns' experience hasn't been limited to the Legislative Building, however. They pop up at dinners, receptions, and of course, at karaoke night, where Kamalani, 21, has been quick to tackle the mike.
Kamalani, who graduated last weekend from UNLV with a degree in political science, is also assigned to Titus.
"She's down to earth and knows her stuff and is very hard working," Kamalani said, checking e-mails in his office well after 5 p.m. one evening after his boss had left. "Senator Titus treats us like we're staff."
As a result Kamalani has done everything from research to constituent services to testifying on legislation -- including Titus' high-profile Red Rock preservation bill.
"It's very substantial work that we do here," Kamalani said.
Kamalani also plans to attend law school and will enroll next at Mississippi College in Jackson, Miss. The former executive director of UNLV's Young Democrats, Kamalani knows he wants to remain involved in politics, but is not sure if he wants to run for office himself.
"This shows me that it takes a lot of dedication and you really have to get involved," Kamalani said.
Both of Titus' interns, Gutierrez and Kamalani, said they have seen more politics serving the minority party in the Senate than the interns assigned to the majority Democrats in the Assembly.
"I had abstract ideas about how things worked, but the one thing I never expected was the indifference some of the legislators have toward key legislation," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez researched and testified on behalf of a racial profiling bill that was indefinitely postponed by the Senate Government Affairs Committee.
"I was there and I thought everything was good to go," Gutierrez said. "After they moved to IP (indefinately postponed), the cold realization struck me, that it's all about politics."
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