Republicans file protest against Bernstein’s ads

Thursday, April 6, 2000 | 4:48 a.m.

State GOP chairman John Mason, in a complaint sent Wednesday to the Federal Election Commission, alleged the ads constitute "excessive and prohibited campaign contributions."

Mason cited a 1996 Senate race in Ohio in which attorney Joel Hyatt ran for the Senate and did what Bernstein has done in the past few months: change his law firm ad to remove his face and voice, but promote his campaign message

The FEC ruled in 1997 that Hyatt violated campaign contributions law, and the law firm and the campaign paid a $11,000 civil penalty.

Bernstein said he's doing with the ads what a Washington, D.C., attorney advised him to do. He added he's not familiar with the Hyatt case.

"People are trying to divert attention away from the issues in the race," he said. He asked why he should "waste time talking about FEC complaints instead of a woman's right to choose."

Bernstein favors abortion rights while his GOP foe, John Ensign, is opposed.

Bernstein has appeared in his own ads since the early 1980s, when he became one of the first attorneys in Nevada to use television ads. He is known for telling people to "take the first step."

His new ads, begun in March, carry the slogan "Ed Bernstein cares" and feature other people discussing how he fights for the little guy.

The GOP complaint alleges this is one of the campaign messages Bernstein has been using, even in his announcement speech held at the mobile home of someone he had helped as an attorney.