Veto stamp to become museum piece

The $16 black-and-gray plastic stamp used to veto bills a record 48 times this year by Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has been deemed museum-worthy.

The stamp is being sent to the Nevada State Museum.

Critics and supporters of the administration agree the stamp belongs in a museum, though for different reasons.

Dan Burns, Gibbons' spokesman, said it's a symbol of the governor's willingness to take principled stands. Until Gibbons, no governor had ever vetoed a state budget, he noted.

"The stamp represents Gov. Gibbons' pledge to stand up for what he believes in, and that's what he did," Burns said.

But the vetoes "are hardly something to be proud of," said state Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno. State lawmakers overrode 25 of the vetoes - also a record.

"It's better to be part of the solution than just stand on your principles, knowing you're going to get overridden," she said. "Is that stamp really what you want to be the symbol of your legacy to the state?"

Nevada's first governor, Henry Blasdel, held the previous record for vetoes with 38, set shortly after the state entered the union in 1864.