Former Hilton chairman joins Ethics Commission

Monday, Sept. 27, 1999 | 10:49 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Raymond C. "Skip" Avansino, Jr., former president and chief operating officer for the Hilton Corp., today was named to the state Ethics Commission by the Legislative Commission.

Avansino of Reno is the final member selected for the commission, which was expanded from six to eight members by the 1999 Legislature and given additional powers. Those new power go into effect Friday.

Avansino served on the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1981 to 1984. He has been a member, chairman and president of the E.L. Wiegand Foundation and the E.L. Wiegand Trust, which supports arts, cultural, civic and community activities.

The vote by the Legislative Commission was unanimous. Others considered were former state Sen. Virgil Getto of Fallon, former Reno Councilwoman Candice Pierce, Jim Kelly, a Lake Tahoe attorney, and Ken Gager, a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper.

Other members of the Ethics Commission are Chairman Bill Bible, Hal Smith, Bill Flangas and Peter Bernhard, all of Clark County; Senior District Judge Mario Recanzone of Fallon, Joni Wines of Douglas County and Todd Russell, a Carson City attorney. Avansino is the fourth attorney now on the commission.

The addition of Avansino, a Republican, gives the commission a makeup of four Republicans, three Democrats and one nonpartisan.

The governor chose four members, and the Legislative Commission selected four.

The 1999 Legislature, at the request of Gov. Kenny Guinn, enlarged the commission, gave it the first executive staff, stiffened some of the penalties for ethics violations and required decisions to be made within specific time periods instead of allowing cases to linger for months.

Earlier this month the Ethics Commission named Kenneth Rohrs, former dean and chief operating officer of the National Judicial College in Reno, as its first executive director and selected Nancy Varnum, also of Reno, as its first independent full-time attorney. The commission has been represented part-time by a deputy attorney general in years past.