Commissioner battles state over elusive campaign fine

Friday, Jan. 22, 1999 | 11:46 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The secretary of state's office and Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera are ensnarled in a bureaucratic snafu that has spanned three months over his payments on a $4,975 fine imposed for late filing of campaign reports.

It has involved a bad check, undelivered or unanswered mail and a failure to accept Herrera's check at the secretary of state's office.

Pamela Crowell, deputy secretary of state in charge of elections, said Thursday afternoon her division has never received a payment from Herrera.

Herrera insisted he mailed a $1,000 check as the first payment to the secretary of state's office in Carson City on Jan. 5.

"They don't have a clue what they are doing," Herrera said.

A further inquiry showed the secretary of state's office received the $1,000 check on Jan. 11, but a processing clerk, who handles hundreds of transactions every day, returned it in the mail to Herrera because there was no notation or correspondence on what the money was for. Herrera hasn't received his check yet.

Both sides hope to straighten this out within the next week.

In November, Herrera signed a $500 check as the first payment for the fine, but the check bounced.

Crowell said she telephoned Herrera on Dec. 17 to notify him about the bum check and left a message on his answering machine. She said she followed that up with a certified letter and a settlement agreement on Dec. 17 for him to pay $500 a month.

The post office tried to deliver the letter three times and failed, and it was returned to Carson City. She said she tried to call Herrera Jan. 13 and left a message. She sent out another certified letter Jan. 14 to Herrera, dunning him about the late payment and asking him to sign the enclosed settlement agreement.

She never heard back from him, she said.

Herrera said he has never received any correspondence from the secretary of state's office. He said Secretary of State Dean Heller "better get his office in order."

When his first check bounced, Herrera said, he had transferred bank accounts and thought he had left enough money in the old account to cover it.

The notification letters from Crowell went to Herrera's home address.

Herrera originally filed to run for a second term in the Assembly, but he changed his mind later and sought the office of county commissioner. He was required to file a report on his campaign contributions and expenses in the race for the Assembly, even though he withdrew.