by Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau: Nevada state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford announced today he has selected David Byerman to serve as the secretary of the Senate beginning Aug. 30.
Byerman will replace former secretary Claire Clift, who Horsford asked to step down earlier this year. Horsford said at the time he wanted a change but offered no further explanation for his decision.
The search for a new Senate secretary took two months and considered 200 applicants. The salary was advertised as between $100,000 and $110,000 a year, which is unchanged from the previous secretary.
The secretary of the Senate is elected by the membership of the Senate and serves as the Senate’s chief administrative officer and parliamentarian. Byerman will serve in the position pending formal approval by the Senate in February of 2011.
“I am very confident that David will bring fresh ideas and vision to the office of secretary of the Senate,” said Horsford, D-Las Vegas. “His varied background and wide-ranging experience will serve him well in this challenging position.”
Byerman, 38, currently serves as the chief government liaison for Nevada for the U.S. Census Bureau. In that capacity, he has traveled extensively throughout the state establishing partnerships and promoting participation in the just-concluded 2010 census.
Byerman served as the primary media spokesman for the Census Bureau in Nevada and is widely credited with the success of the statewide campaign.
Byerman earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands, with a double major in political science and history. He earned a master’s of governmental administration degree from the Fels Center of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.
He served as a policy advisor to former Gov. Bob Miller on environmental, transportation and technology issues. He also formerly served as chief of the Program Development Division for the Nevada Department of Transportation, where he managed intergovernmental relations.
Immediately prior to his two-year stint with the Census Bureau, Byerman served as director of communications for MGM MIRAGE, the state’s largest private sector employer.
Byerman is a former president of the Sparks Chamber of Commerce, a former three-term chairman of the State of Nevada’s Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy, and was appointed by the late Gov. Kenny Guinn to the state of Nevada’s Advisory Committee on Natural Resources.
“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the people of Nevada as secretary of the Senate,” Byerman said. “As I leave federal employment, I would also like to thank the 6,200 members of our Census 2010 team throughout the state. As Nevadans, we will all be realizing the benefits of a successful census for the next ten years to come.”
Byerman is married to Caroline and they have two children, Amanda, 10, and Will, 8.
