[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 131 (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            CEASAR SALICCHI

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in 1970, a young man in Elko, NV spent $365 
to run for the position of Elko County Treasurer.
  That was the last time Ceasar Salicchi ever had to spend a dime in a 
political campaign . . . and the last time he had an opponent.
  Since then, Salicchi has won eight additional terms as county 
treasurer. Overall, his career in public service to the people of Elko 
County has spanned five different decades . . . almost 42 years.
  For those who have never had the fortune of visiting northeast 
Nevada, it is in the opinion of many the most beautiful part of the 
Silver State. Elko County boasts majestic mountains, and unlike most 
other parts of our state, gets enough rain to provide good range for 
livestock. So Elko is a prime area for ranching--a place, it would 
seem, where many beautiful scenes in cowboy movies could have been 
filmed.
  Salicchi is the son of local ranchers Cesare and Nella Salicchi, 
Italian immigrants who are now deceased. Ceasar served in the Army in 
1945 and '46, and returned home to start ranching with his father and 
his brother, Alfred. He married his first wife, Jeanine, in 1950, and 
they started a family and settled into life on the ranch.
  I am sure Ceasar expected to spend his life as a rancher, as so many 
in that part of the country do. But on December 15, 1952, at age 25, he 
was stricken with polio. After his recovery, he faced living with 
disabilities that required him to walk with crutches.
  Salicchi vowed that he wouldn't let his disabilities keep him down . 
. . and they certainly did not. Since ranching was no longer a viable 
way for him to support a young family, he went to the Reno Business 
College, earned a degree in business administration, and set out to 
forge a new career.
  His exceptional skills in organization and fiscal management not only 
allowed him to succeed in that endeavor, but also benefited the people 
of Elko County.
  In 1962, Ceasar was working in the local hardware store on Commercial 
Street in downtown Elko. A man named Al Haber, the accountant for the 
county-owned Elko General Hospital, offered him a job as the hospital's 
business manager.
  Ceasar immediately started making positive changes in the hospital's 
operations. For example, he is credited with bringing the first 
computer to the hospital, an IBM Model 3. As he continued to look for 
ways to make things run better, he developed a reputation as a good 
steward of the public's money.
  He decided to run for county treasurer in 1970, promising to 
modernize operations in the same way he had done at the hospital. The 
people of Elko County had faith in him, and he won the election. Since 
then, he has been re-elected eight times without opposition.
  Salicchi is a life-long Democrat, and he reminisces with razor-sharp 
clarity about voting for President Harry Truman after he returned home 
from his Army tour in 1948.
  But the secret to his political success is a personal approach to the 
job, not ideology.
  ``I enjoy this job,'' he says. ``Serving the public and friends 
provides me with personal satisfaction, and service is my main 
objective.''
  He has provided tremendous service. At the time Ceasar took office, 
all of the financial operations at the Elko courthouse were still 
performed by hand. About 9,000 tax bills were processed by hand, and 
kept on the treasurer's office counter for people to walk in and pay.
  Salicchi's efforts to modernize the office began in 1976 with the 
installation of the first computer system, and modernization has 
continued to this day. Earlier this year, following approval from the 
county commission, the treasurer's office successfully began auctioning 
delinquent property on the Internet.
  Today, Ceasar's office processes more than 37,000 tax bills each 
year. He also oversees the management and investment of public money. 
The portfolio for Elko County runs from $19 million to $23 million, and 
the interest and dividends are distributed to the local school district 
and other public funds.
  In the 1970s, when national efforts to protect the rights of persons 
with disabilities were just beginning, Salicchi served on several 
Governor-appointed committees to implement those policies in Nevada. 
That was around the same time I first met Ceasar, when I was running 
for Lieutenant Governor.
  Since then, it has always been a delight to visit Elko and see 
Ceasar. I was there just a few weeks ago, and I asked him if he was 
planning to retire anytime soon.
  He responded with that familiar twinkle in his eye and sly grin: 
``Maybe.''
  But his wife Darlene, who is also his biggest supporter, said, 
``We'll see about that.''
  While Ceasar has faithfully served the people of Elko County, his 
first love has always been his family.
  His first wife, Jeanine, passed away on October 23, 1969. In 1984 he 
married Darlene, whom he had met when they both worked at the county 
hospital. Their children include Judy Trotter and Chet Gilbert, both of 
Elko; Tina Snow of Anchorage, Alaska; Dee Dee Kelsey of Aldrich, 
Minnesota; and Paul Gilbert of Los Angeles. Two sons, Ceasar Raymond 
Salicchi and Doug Shatto, are deceased.
  Ceasar Salicchi has been a fixture in the public life of Elko, NV 
since 1962. The city of Elko, Elko County, and the State of Nevada are 
all better places because of a man who doesn't know the meaning of 
defeat--Ceasar Salicchi.

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