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CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Former Nevada Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, a gentle-voiced statesman who used power of persuasion and friendship to bridge partisan divides through a long legislative career, died Thursday at a Reno hospital. He turned 85 just two weeks ago, on March 28.
Dini served a record eight times leading the lower chamber in the Nevada Legislature.
The Yerington Democrat was elected to the Assembly in 1967. He served until 2002 in a career that made him the longest-serving assemblyman in state history. He was revered by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval praised Dini as a legend and one of Nevada's greatest statesmen.
"Speaker Dini was a staunch supporter of rural Nevada and the essence of leadership in our state," Sandoval said in a statement.
Dini will be remembered for "encouraging respect among his colleagues," said U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev.
Dini's parents, Giuseppe and Elvira Dini, emigrated from the Lucca Provence of Italy and settled Nevada's Mason Valley in the 1920s.
Dini was born in 1929 in Yerington and graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. For decades he owned and ran Dini's Lucky Club in the rural farming community 80 miles southeast of Reno. The casino is now owned by two of his sons, Jay and George, who currently serves as Yerington mayor. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Mouryne Landing Dini; two other sons, David and Mike; and a brother, Jerry Dini.
He was preceded in death by his first wife of more than 40 years, Jeanne Demuth Dini, and a brother, LeRoy.
Services were pending.
In a 2013 interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Dini, who suffered numerous health problems in recent years, said lawmakers have forgotten the art of compromise.
"They need to put aside their differences and work for the good of the state, take care of issues for the average people," he said. "They need to come up with a plan for the future of our state."
He recalled negotiating bills with colleagues over drinks and playing pool at a bar across the street from the Legislature. Friendships formed, and differences were resolved.
A strong voice for rural Nevada issues, he also was a staunch supporter of education, veterans, senior issues, the arts and health care. His contributions were recognized with two buildings named in his honor — the Dini-Townsend mental health facility in Reno and the Joseph E. Dini Jr. Library and Student Center at Western Nevada College in Carson City.
After his retirement, legislators recognized Dini as "Speaker Emeritus," and granted him lifetime endowment use of the "State Assemblyman 1" license plate.
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., called Dini "a true legislator."
"He understood that legislation is the art of compromise and as a moderate Democrat, Joe worked with fellow legislators and governors from both sides of the aisle," Reid said. "He devoted his life to public service, and always had every Nevadans' interests at heart."
Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, called her former mentor "a role model for all legislators" who brought "dignity and grace" to the speaker's office.
"He has left his great mark upon our state government, and his spirit will long continue to inspire us," Kirkpatrick said.
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said Dini was a "larger-than-life" public figure who was dedicated to representing rural Nevada and the state as a whole. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., called him a "lion of the Nevada Legislature" and "master of the art of statecraft."
Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said Dini "was a person who transcended partisan labels and did more in a given week during a legislative session for Nevada than most do in a year."
"When you look up 'Mr. Speaker' in the Nevada dictionary, Joe Dini's picture is there," Amodei said.
Perhaps no other time was political compromise more evident than the 1995 session, when Republicans and Democrats each had 21 members in the Assembly and Dini shared the speakership with then-Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville.
"Everybody said the session would be a disaster, but we worked together," Hettrick told the Review-Journal in the 2013. "We sent out a letter to everyone and said we can come out looking worthless or we can accomplish something."
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