Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 10:23 a.m.
RENO -- The list has been narrowed to seven men and one woman in the search for the first executive director of the Nevada Ethics Commission.
A final selection could be made at the commission's Sept. 17 meeting in Las Vegas.
A subcommittee of the commission also chose seven finalists for the job as independent counsel for the commission, which is getting a full-time executive staff for the first time.
There were 37 applications for the $70,000-a-year job of executive director, but the subcommittee narrowed the list to Ronald Shutt of Las Vegas, Patrick Rodgers of Henderson, Karen Caldwell of Incline Village, William Yukish and Terry Rubald, both of Carson City, and Joel Gutensohn, Kenneth Rohrs and Marc Warren, all of Reno.
The subcommittee, composed of Peter Bernhard, a Las Vegas lawyer and Mario Recanzone, a retired district judge from Fallon, each made nominations. The only common name both selected was Rohrs.
There were 24 applications for the attorney's job, which will earn $67,000 a year. The subcommittee nominated Louis Wai of Las Vegas, Eileen Luttrell of Boulder City, Bradley Nicholson of Carson City and Ronetta Clark, Moreen Scully, Nancy Peevers Varnum and Hampton Young of Reno. The only one selected by both subcommittee members was Varnum.
Bernhard and Recanzone will meet Sept. 16 in Las Vegas to interview the candidates personally or by telephone. Each candidate will be given 15 minutes. Both lists will then be trimmed and the finalists will be sent to the commission meeting the following day.
Until this year the commission had only one staff member, a program specialist. The commission also had a deputy attorney general assigned to it part time.
But the Legislature, at the suggestion of Gov. Kenny Guinn, expanded the number of commissioners, gave them a beefed up executive staff and toughened the laws.
In commenting on the applicants for executive director, Recanzone said they did not have a lot of background in investigations. The new executive director will have to look into complaints filed against office-holders and decide if there is enough evidence to warrant further hearings.
At the subcommittee meeting Reno activist Sam Dehne asked the members to "revisit" its decision to fine him $5,000 for filing a frivolous complaint against Reno Mayor Jeff Griffin and Krys Bart, executive director of the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority.
He called the decision by the commission "anti-whistleblower" and added, "All I was doing was requesting an opinion." The commission also ordered the case be turned over to the district attorney's office for possible prosecution.
Dehne said he was trying to do his "civic duty" but he wound up with a fine and threat of prosecution. He suggested the commission has authority over politicians but not over private citizens.
The subcommittee did not take any action on Dehne's request.
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