House hopefuls exchange barbs

Martin Kuz

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

Dueling press conferences held Tuesday by the candidates in Nevada's 1st Congressional District race suggest the campaign has taken another turn for the negative.

First up was Democrat Shelley Berkley, who blasted Republican Don Chairez for failing to pay his taxes on time on four occasions in the 1980s while a Sacramento resident.

Copies of California tax reports provided by the Berkley campaign revealed that Chairez paid a total of $2,093.55 in overdue taxes, late fees and interest from 1983-'88. The taxes owed ranged from $10 to $500, and the liens imposed ranged from $9 to $551.

Although Chairez eventually paid up, Berkley contended that his inability to handle personal finances makes him unfit for the demands of congressional office.

"How can you trust someone who doesn't pay his own taxes (on time)?" she said.

An hour later across town, Chairez responded to the charges with a press conference of his own.

In a subsequent interview, he said the reports referred to delinquent payroll taxes during the early days of his Sacramento law practice. With money tight at the fledgling firm, Chairez said he had to decide between cutting paychecks for his two employees or covering his taxes.

"I had to make a choice: pay the workers on time or pay the government on time. And I chose the workers over the government," he said.

The Berkley camp's citing of 15-year-old tax records "is a sign they're getting desperate" as the Nov. 3 election approaches, Chairez said.

"If she really wants to talk about the issues, why is she hiring people to look into my life 20 years ago?" Chairez said, noting that he would readily sign a waiver to make public his entire credit history. "I'm not afraid to have people look at my past. I have nothing to hide."

Berkley said the tax reports were relevant in light of TV ads sponsored by the Republican national party that criticize her for tax increases she voted for while a Nevada Assemblywoman from 1982-'84.

She pointed out that five of the six bills mentioned in the ad passed by unanimous or nearly unanimous margins, an indication they had bipartisan support. The sixth bill, which would have raised property taxes on schools, failed by one vote.

The Chairez camp issued a press release later Tuesday calling for Berkley to join Chairez at six press conferences to discuss issues. Berkley spokesman Richard Urey said she would consider the idea if an agreement could be reached to staunch the negative advertising that has marred the campaign.