Deputy AG will run for governor

Monday, April 15, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.

Deputy Attorney General Matthew Dushoff, twice a candidate for local court positions, surprised fellow Democrats at the Clark County Democratic Convention Saturday with an announcement that he would challenge Gov. Kenny Guinn this fall.

Dushoff had not been scheduled to speak at the convention but arranged to take the lectern to make his announcement.

The only other Democrat to announce intentions to run for governor this year is Barbara Scott, a former topless dancer.

Dushoff ran for Municipal Court judge in Henderson in 1999 and for justice of the peace in Henderson in 2000. He lost both races, finishing second both times.

In 1999 Dushoff lost to Municipal Judge John Provost, but managed to get 19 percent of the vote, the best among the three who ran against Provost.

The following year he lost to Stephen George in a race for a Justice Court position that opened when incumbent Kent Dawson was selected for a federal judgeship. In that race, Dushoff gained 36 percent of the vote to George's 46 percent, and he bested two other candidates.

During that race he spent $12,500, raising much of the money from other attorneys.

A prosecutor in the attorney general's office since 1994, Dushoff was a public defender in New York City for three years before moving to Nevada.

He was appointed in 1998 to serve on the inaugural Statewide Sexual Assault Task Force and is a member of the Southern Nevada Domestic Violence Task Force Legislative Committee.

During the 2001 Legislature he advocated expansion of the law that bars sexual contact between teachers and students.