PolitickerNV Profile: Joe Brezny

LAS VEGAS-In the coming weeks, PolitickerNV.com will be profiling some of the staffers and consultants who work so hard to get these guys and gals elected and us something to write about. Today's subject: Joe Brezny, executive director of the Republican Senate Caucus.

Brezny, 37, has spent much of his life actively working to get Republicans elected. While just in high school, he began his career as a "Students for Bush" volunteer in Columbus, Ohio in 1988.

"Back then it was licking stamps and stuffing envelopes and talking with other high school seniors about getting registered to vote," said Brezny. "That's something that I still try to do whenever I get a chance, is speak with high school seniors and say ‘here's what I think, politically. If you love that and want that to be what happens, register to vote and vote the way I vote. If you hate that, register to vote and vote against it. Either way, have a voice.'"

Working in Ohio, Brezny made the acquaintance of two other of Nevada's top Republican consultants, Ryan Erwin and Mike Slanker, who Brezny says "brought [him] up in the business."

In 1990, Brezny volunteered again and learned the oft-maligned art of opposition research alongside Erwin, working Bob Taft's race for secretary of state. Brezny remained a volunteer while attending school at Miami University in Ohio, then in 1992 went to work full-time for the Ohio Republican "machine."

"I was like ‘I can't believe how much money they're paying me to do this,'" said Brezny, smiling. "It was $1,500 a month and it was a great experience."

The Ohio Republican Party sent Brezny to Elyria, Ohio where he worked a state legislative race. There, he grimaces to remember, Brezny had his first brush with defeat.

"I figured out two things that year," said Brezny. "I really hate to lose and you learn a lot more when you lose than when you win. It stings. You go back and you look really closely and you replay things in your mind to figure out ‘what could I have done differently.'"

Stung again by a primary defeat in 1994, Brezny returned to school and received his degree in political science from Miami University.

"The one college class that I failed was campaign management," Brezny said. "I actually had the professor write on one of my papers, ‘although a well-written argument, I cannot give you a passing grade because I so violently disagree with your viewpoints.'"

"I was a bit more snarky about being a Republican back then and didn't mind arguing with the professor in class. At that point, I had already managed two races and his experience was from twenty years before. I probably deserved it for being such a smart-aleck."

Taking a break from politics, Brezny worked in the construction industry and operated a production house, work that he credits with teaching him important lessons about management.

"All the campaign schools that I went to and all the campaigns that I've run, I probably learned more about how to run a campaign by running a construction company," said Brezny. "That's where I learned to balance a thousand little details."

"Running a campaign is either death by a thousand cuts or winning by a thousand tiny steps. That's what makes this job difficult because it's very easy to let a few of those cuts happen because it takes a thousand of them to kill you. But there will be cuts that come out of nowhere and you don't know when they're coming or where they're coming from, so it's keeping as many positives as possible."

Taking on public service full-time, Brezny went to work next for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, where he served under Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor in Gov. Bob Taft's administration.

"There was very little political about the job," said Brezny, "and that's where I learned that I am not a bureaucrat."

"I just don't feel comfortable somewhere where as long as you show up before 8 o'clock and you stay until after 5 o'clock, what happens in the middle doesn't matter. The only people that we would ever see get fired were the ones who couldn't show up by 8 o'clock or couldn't stay until 5 o'clock, but if they did nothing during those eight hours, you couldn't get rid of them. It was intensely frustrating."

In 2001, Brezny made his way to Nevada and took the Senate Legislative Caucus director's job that he held then and in 2004, and now holds again this cycle. Before going back to work for the senate caucus this year, however, Brezny served as state director for former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's successful caucus effort here.

"I've honestly never been managed that hard," Brezny said. "It was crystal clear that the operation was being run by a CEO that was Harvard educated. Everything was managed and staticized, tracked down to a tee. I'll be bringing some volunteers over from that organization."

Today, Brezny is excited to be returning to work for Nevada Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, whom he describes as "a legend."

"Usually when we get a new client in this business, everything's new," said Brezny. "Learning the personalities and how everything works is a decent percentage of your efforts. I really feel like I'm going to be able to hit the ground running. I'm excited about this year; it's going to be a fun year."

"One of the motivating factors for me that made it easy and comfortable to come back is that my opponent is Sen. Dina Titus. I have a lot of respect for her. Sitting across the chessboard from Sen. Titus and Lindsey Jydstrup again is something I was looking forward to."

While he has enjoyed working with so many different clients over the years, Brezny expects that in the future he may seek a more permanent job in governmental affairs or community relations.

"It's fun to do your own thing and just be the hired contractor," said Brezny. "But I'm getting to the point where, you know, looking for a new client takes a couple of months, and it's hard to not have that predictable income stream. It's funny when you're 23, but now I will probably start looking at some of the larger firms."