Del Papa: Officials may place votes about friends

Monday, Sept. 28, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, trying to clear up confusion over Nevada's ethics law, says an elected official does not have to automatically abstain from voting on an issue when a friend is involved.

Del Papa told Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic Friday that a person should abstain only if that friend would benefit from the vote.

Jerbic asked for clarifications after the state Ethics Commission issued several opinions on conflict of interest involving Clark County officials in recent months.

"We do not believe that the ethics in government law was intended to prevent government officials from seeking or receiving input from constituents who may also include acquaintances and friends," Del Papa wrote.

"The law places particular emphasis on the need of public officials to disclose conflicts or potential conflicts on the record, with abstention being required only in limited circumstances where the independence of judgment of a reasonable person would in fact be materially affected."

Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese had disclosed he has a longtime friendship with Larry Woodrum, president of BankWest, who was involved in a controversial restaurant zoning case concerning Nick's Fish Market. Reese asked Jerbic if he could vote and Jerbic advised him that he could.

Reese later was hauled before the Ethics Commission on a complaint -- which was later dismissed -- filed by former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller.

There were other cases where conflicts were found when it came to city and county officials voting on issues involving friends, so Jerbic asked Del Papa for guidance.

She said public officials "who consult with counsel to determine their obligations, should be able to carry out their public duties without concern that they may still be found to have acted inappropriately after the fact."

In June the Ethics Commission scolded Clark County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Commissioner Lance Malone for not disclosing their relationships to bidders for the lucrative D Gate concession at McCarran International Airport. The pair said they followed the advice of Clark County Counsel Mary Ann Miller.

Del Papa, in referring to the ethics opinion in the case, said if a public officer knows his friend has a matter coming before the public body, there's an obligation to "disclose and abstain if the official's independence of judgment would be materially affected by the friendship."

The attorney general took issue with part of the ethics decision that said the staff should conduct research if the public official is too busy to review agendas for potential conflicts, saying she questioned whether public money should be spent to research the private interests of officials.

Del Papa agreed that the law should be cleared up by the Legislature because the Ethics Commission is having difficulty interpreting the law.

"Public officials should always disclose any relevant private interests on the record and with the advice of counsel explore whether such an interest would require abstention," Del Papa said.