Editorial: Don’t let taxpayers pick up tab

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 | 9:21 a.m.

This past year Las Vegas city government wisely adopted rules that aim to restrict an incumbent city council member's ability to leverage the government's public relations tentacles, which are tantamount to paid political advertising in a re-election bid. So when City Council incumbents filed for re-election in January, they no longer could be featured on the city's television station or in its newsletter until the elections were over.

Not only is it unfair to give elected officeholders the ability to use government funds to essentially promote their candidacies, but it also is wrong to waste taxpayer money for what amounts to taxpayer-financed campaigning. So it shouldn't seem that unusual that the city adopted these restraints. For that matter, Congress has similar prohibitions on government-paid mass mailings close to an election.

Unlike their brethren in the city, however, Clark County commissioners still are living in the Dark Ages when it comes to common-sense restrictions on using government funds during a campaign. It was raised as an issue during Steve Harney's failed bid in 1998 to unseat Commissioner Erin Kenny, but the county subsequently never instituted any reforms. The reasoning offered by the county is that just because you're running for re-election, it doesn't mean that your duties as an officeholder cease. The fact is, though, that the members of the City Council still can carry out their duties effectively with these limited restrictions.

Under the city's guidelines, incumbents still vote at City Council meetings, they take constituents' phone calls, and they even attend town hall meetings to gather input and answer questions from constituents. The only matters that the city curtails are using taxpayer dollars to send out unsolicited newsletters or to broadcast so-called "news stories" that glorify incumbents -- all avenues that the county has used.

As seen in Tuesday's election, incumbents already have a tremendous advantage. They have instant name recognition and easy access to campaign money, which in local races today can easily amount to half a million dollars. It is time for the Clark County Commission to get on board and adopt rules that restrict the objectionable use of government money for what really is free political advertising.