James not talking about appearance before ethics panel

Monday, July 19, 1999 | 11:57 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, has declined comment on his appearance before the state Ethics Commission Friday in Reno.

James emerged from a closed-door 30-minute meeting of the commission and said the session was confidential. The agenda listed the item as a request from a public official for advice on possible conflict of interest situations.

James had a conflict during the 1999 Legislature over his conduct in a Lake Tahoe issue. His law firm had been hired by Las Vegas businessman Larry Ruvo to help in processing an application for a pier at Lake Tahoe.

A bill was introduced and an amendment followed that would have cleared the way for Ruvo and powerful lobbyist Harvey Whittemore to build the pier despite opposition of surrounding homeowners in the association. The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee headed by James.

The original bill addressed homeowners associations, advocating term limits, residency requirements and operating rules for the boards.

James was advised by legal counsel for the Legislature that he could not vote on the matter and so he stepped aside as chairman and left the room when the issue was discussed. James said he later disclosed again his potential conflict of interest but he advocated passage of the bill in its original form, which did not include the pier section. However, he was criticized for participating in that debate.

After the debate on the measure, when asked whether he had an ethical problem, James said, "Absolutely, positively not. My thing was to stay uninvolved and not vote, which is exactly what I did."

James supported term limits for officers of homeowners' associations in that debate. The limits were rejected.

When the bill came up for final passage on the Senate floor, he abstained again. He said he never had anything to do with the original drafting of the bill.

The bill ultimately passed and became law, minus the amendment allowing the pier.

James recently said he would not be a candidate for the congressional seat in Las Vegas and previously bowed out as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate.