Modest Reno Is Not the Typical Capital Insider

Atty. Gen.-designate Janet Reno returned home Friday after four whirlwind days in Washington, pledging that if confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer she would wage a vigorous war on crime with a revitalized Justice Department.

“We’ve got to prosecute the really dangerous offenders, the career criminals as vigorously as possible,” she said, emphasizing the need to develop a “true partnership among state, federal and local law enforcement officials.

In an airport press conference, the 54-year-old Dade County, Fla., state attorney again displayed the kind of straight-forward talk and unassuming manner that have become her signature and have captured attention in the nation’s capital, which is accustomed to neither.

Asked if she would have a listed telephone number, as she does in Miami--but which is almost unheard of in Washington--Reno said: “I think I will try it.”

Reno is an unlikely Beltway insider. She lives far outside Miami--in a wood-frame house built on the edge of the steamy Everglades by her mother--and has no air conditioning, no television, no fans, not even a washer or dryer.

Asked whether she would succumb to any modern conveniences if she moves to Washington, Reno quipped: “What about heat?”

Invited to comment on her record of effort in Miami, Reno said: “My mother once told me that unless you try very hard to do your very best, it’s going to get a lot worse.”

The never-married Reno even responded with striking candor to personal attacks from a local right-wing gadfly, attorney Jack Thompson, who opposed her in 1988.

“Mr. Thompson always worries about my sexual preference, but the fact is I’m just an awkward old maid with a very great affection for men,” she said.

Reno appeared relaxed, even ebullient, as she met the Miami press corps less than 24 hours after President Clinton nominated her to become the nation’s first female attorney general, an announcement that appears to have brought to an end a tortuous process for the Administration.

Clinton’s first nominee, corporate lawyer Zoe Baird, withdrew her name after revelations that she had illegally hired illegal immigrants as domestic help and failed to pay their payroll taxes. The controversy then ensnared a second potential candidate, New York federal Judge Kimba M. Wood, even though she had violated no laws in her hiring of an illegal immigrant as a household worker.

Reno, who has no children, declared that she is free of a “nanny problem.”

Known as a tough prosecutor with an unquestioned reputation for honesty and integrity, Reno in 15 years as Dade’s chief prosecutor has been tested by urban riots, crooked police officers, politicians on the take, massive drug smuggling operations and several highly publicized sexual abuse and white-collar theft cases.

“I think I have an understanding and an experience in the day-to-day life of America, and the problems, the frustrations, the crime, the drugs, the youth gangs, the violence that threads its way through all of America,” she said. “I’ve had to deal with it on the streets.”

Reno has not prevailed in all of her prosecutions, and critics have accused her of ducking some controversial cases by passing them on to federal authorities.

But she has proven to be particularly tough in safeguarding the rights of children, especially in child support cases, and in prosecuting environmental crimes, two things that caught the attention of the Clinton Administration.

Although child support matters are not within the purview of the Justice Department, Reno could use what will be her considerable influence to encourage states and local governments to enforce existing laws or write new ones.

The Justice Department’s involvement in environmental issues is more direct. It is responsible for upholding a host of environmental laws and prosecuting important cases, such as that against Exxon for its Alaska oil spill.

Soon after taking office, which may still be a month away because of the need to hold confirmation hearings, Reno will face a potentially bruising personnel matter. Along with Clinton she will decide the fate of embattled FBI Director William S. Sessions, who has been accused in a Justice Department investigation of having used his office for personal gain.

And she will be faced with reordering some of the priorities of a Justice Department that Democrats claim has become too politicized and has failed to uphold its responsibility for safeguarding civil rights.

But it was the environment that was clearly on her mind as she returned, however briefly, to a warm and sunny Miami

Reno waxed nostalgic over South Florida’s unique subtropical landscape, in which she has lived for all of her life, except for the seven years when she studied at Cornell University and Harvard Law School.

“I love (Dade County) and I’m going to miss it,” she said. “It was really something, as the plane was starting to descend, to look out across that ocean, and then to look west across Florida and see a blue sky still existing.

“I think we’re lucky. There are a number of areas in this country where the environment is in danger.”

Reno described the ordeal of interviews and background checks in Washington as “an awesome experience,” and said she was asked all manner of questions, including how her siblings would respond to the pressure her new post might create. One of her brothers, Robert, is a columnist for New York Newsday; the other, Mark, is a sea captain. A sister, Maggie Hurchala, is a Martin County commissioner in central Florida.

Reno’s parents were both newspaper reporters.

Asked if she was up to supervising a federal bureaucracy of 90,000 employees, compared to the 900 she supervises here, Reno answered: “I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t think I was.

“I hope to do with this position--if I’m confirmed--what (I did) in the position that I took 15 years ago. When I first took office, some newspaper and television people said, ‘You’re a nice lady, but we don’t think a lady can do the job.’ Later one of the same people said, ‘You’ve proved me wrong.’ I hope I can prove the skeptics wrong.”

After the press conference, Reno visited each of several departments that make up the state attorney’s office to thank her staff. She received a tumultuous welcome at each stop.

“There were tears; it was very emotional,” said Isis Perez, a prosecutor in the felony division. “She is one of us. It’s like one of your best friends has finally been recognized. We’re just proud.”

Times staff writer Ronald J. Ostrow also contributed to this story.