Abstract
The John Vergiels Political Papers (1964-1997) contain the professional files from John Vergiels' career as a Nevada State Assemblyman and Senator. The papers cover a broad range of his activities in office, including committee work and dedication to issues such as education, finance, transportation, government affairs, commerce, labor, and care for people with disabilities. Materials include meeting agendas and minutes, bill drafts and summaries, supporting materials for bills and voting issues, and correspondence from individual and organizational constituents.
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Scope and Contents Note
The John Vergiels Political Papers (1964-1997) contain professional files from the office John Vergiels, focusing on his tenure as a Nevada State Assemblyman from 1974-1984 and a Nevada State Senator from 1985-1992. The papers cover a broad range of his committee work on education, finance, transportation, ways and means, government affairs, commerce, labor, and care for people with disabilities. Materials include individual and organizational constituent correspondence, Assembly and Senate meeting agendas and minutes, drafts and summaries of legislation, reports, memoranda, surveys, and newspaper clippings related to Vergiels' committee work. Bills in the collection include Senate Bills (SB), Assembly Bills (AB), Senate Joint Resolutions (SJR), and Assembly Joint Resolutions (AJR), and Senate Concurrent Resolutions (SCR) at various stages of development, from drafts to final products. The collection highlights Vergiels' work on issues such as the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), prison and judicial system organization, industrial labor and insurance rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
Access Note
Collection is open for research, with the exception of materials that are restricted to protect personally identifiable information. Restrictions are noted at the file level of this inventory and will be open for research use January 1, 2066.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Born in 1937 in Erie, Michigan, Dr. John M. "Jack" Vergiels earned his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. in Education from the University of Toledo before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. During his thirties, Vergiels worked as professor of education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), served as both chairman and vice-chairman of the UNLV Faculty Senate, and as a trustee for the Clark County Committee for the Aging. During this time, he also served as the president of the Las Vegas Young Democrats organization, encouraging local youth to participate in politics.
Elected as a Clark County Assemblyman in 1973, Vergiels served District 10 until 1984. When he filed to run in 1972, he identified drug abuse, the crime rate, the local environment, education, and budgetary issues as his primary concerns. He served as chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, the Legislative Commission's Subcommittee to Study the Structures and Functions of the State Board of Education and State Department of Education, and the Subcommittee for the Study of Private Care Providers of Mental Health Care and Services. Vergiels was also a member of the Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene and Mental Retardation programs in Nevada (MHMR), the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), the Ways and Means Committee, and the Legislative Commission, and served as Speaker of the Nevada Assembly in 1983. In the 1980s, he also worked outside of his political office as president of the board of directors of the National Kidney Foundation of Nevada.
In 1985, Vergiels won election to the Nevada State Senate, and served in that position until 1992. As a senator, Vergiels remained focused on many of his Assembly priority issues, including insurance and benefits programs for workers, commerce and labor, rights for people with disabilities, and education, and served on committees and subcommittees devoted to these matters. Vergiels also served on committees that examined the state's prison system, transportation, and consumer rights, and served as Senate Majority Leader.
Vergiels passed away on December 16, 2009.
Sources:
"State legislature, educator John 'Jack' Vergiels dies."
"John M. "Jack" Vergiels."
Preferred Citation
John Vergiels Political Papers, 1964-1997. MS-00283. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated periodically by John Vergiels from 1979 to 1993; accession numbers T-149, 76-50, 78-27, 79-119, 86-18, 86-60, 87-60, 91-20, 91-43, 93-31, 93-33, and 96-9. Materials were also donated in 2013 by Jerry Landwer; accession number 2014-07.
Processing Note
Materials were inventoried by Special Collections staff in May 2006. In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Billy Marino and Jimmy Chang rehoused the materials, revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.
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Storage Location
Some materials are stored in the Lied Automated Storage and Retrieval Unit (LASR). Advanced notice may be required to access these materials.