Ethics charge filed in commission duel

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 | 11:52 a.m.

The president of Prudential Southwest Realty, which employs Republican Clark County Commission candidate Milt Doyle, filed an ethics complaint Tuesday against Dario Herrera, Doyle's Democratic opponent.

The complaint stems from a Herrera-funded radio spot that erroneously claimed that Doyle's insurance company is in bad standing with the secretary of state's office.

Doyle's campaign manager, Marc Kincaid, said Herrera violated ethics laws by airing radio spots that contain false information. Last month, the state Ethics Commission fined Assembly District 4 candidate Bob Beers $5,000 for a similar offense.

"Milt Doyle works for Prudential," Kincaid said. "Prudential president Jim Wade was very upset because his ad had run and he had agents calling him concerned if they still had a job."

Kincaid said Wade asked him to handle media inquiries into the complaint.

Herrera said Tuesday that Doyle's agency is listed as Southwest Realty on documentation his office obtained. That company, according to the State Insurance Division, is listed as being in default.

The day after Herrera was alerted to the error, and two days after the commercial started, he pulled the spot.

"Their attorneys told us if we pulled the ads, they wouldn't pursue it any further," Herrera said. I find it ironic they would do this when their own tactics are below the belt. It's obviously politically motivated."

Herrera said Doyle-sponsored ads have distorted his voting record in the Assembly and exaggerated an incident in which he appeared before the Ethics Commission.

Kincaid contends Herrera's radio spot continued for more than a day after the Democrat's camp was warned.

"When you're a candidate, you open yourself up to this kind of crap," Kincaid said. "But to say a company that is in good standing is in bad standing, that's a flat-out lie."

Herrera was fined about $5,000 Thursday by the secretary of state for failing to submit campaign finance reports for the short time he was running for re-election to the state Assembly. The proper paperwork was filed for the County Commission race.