Political notebook: Fed suit sidelines candidates

Erin Neff

Friday, Feb. 8, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.

With the Enron fiasco fresh in people's minds, a local company's trouble has claimed two GOP Assembly candidates.

Robert Bennington was planning a run in Assembly District 3, expected to be incumbent-free when John Lee, D-Las Vegas, runs for state controller. Larry Weinsteen was also planning to run in Assembly District 34, an open seat in Clark County.

But that was before the feds shut down National Audit Defense Network Inc. on Monday, listing company co-founder and president Bennington as a defendant in a deceptive trade practices suit and dragging employees such as Weinsteen into an embarrassing news story.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint and obtained a court order to close NADN and Tax Coach Inc. alleging the two companies deceived customers by guaranteeing they could save them money on taxes or their payments would be refunded.

Bennington was touted to run before the feds stepped in, partly because of the company's past success. In 1999 he and NADN co-founder Cort Christie won the emerging entrepreneur award in a Nevada entrepreneur awards program.

Sandoval an LV resident?

Reno attorney Brian Sandoval has been spending more time in Las Vegas than at home to drum up support for his attorney general bid.

"Seventy percent of the state's residents live here, so I have to spend 70 percent of my time here," Sandoval said Tuesday at a Clark County Republican precinct meeting.

Sandoval says even though Democrats are talking up a potential run by Las Vegas attorney John Hunt, he is focused on his bid.

"I'm only concentrating on my race," said Sandoval, former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

To help show his presence around town, and perhaps to keep Hunt at bay, Sandoval also put up his first signs around Las Vegas this week.

Precinct meetings big affairs

Elvis, mariachis, a jazz band, two beauty queens, "Survivor I" finalist Susan Hawk and even some Republicans showed up for Tuesday's first-ever countywide GOP precinct meeting.

The fun continued throughout Cashman Center with volunteers plastering themselves with candidate stickers and trying to pass out as much literature as possible.

Congressional candidate Lynette Boggs McDonald told the crowd that since Las Vegas can't have Tyson-Lewis, it'll have to settle for Boggs McDonald-Berkley.

Numerous volunteers mentioned how good the countywide format was compared to having dozens of schools and fire stations with just one or two Republicans in them during precinct meeting night.

The Democrats will have their precinctwide meeting Sunday, beginning at 2 p.m. at Chaparral High School, 3850 Annie Oakley Drive.

Hunt urges Yucca opposition

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt has joined the list of state officials urging their counterparts nationwide to oppose Yucca Mountain.

Hunt, who chairs both the Nevada Commission on Tourism and the Commission on Economic Development, is taking part in the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors this week in Washington.

During her trip Hunt planned to meet with Energy Undersecretary Bob Card to discuss Nevada's opposition to Yucca Mountain and to suggest alternatives to the waste repository.

She also planned to give 27 lieutenant governors maps showing transportation routes through their states.

Hunt returns from her trip tonight.

For the record

Clark County Republican Party Executive Director Chris Carr will speak on grass-roots politics at the general meeting of the Nevada Republican Network on Feb. 19.

The meeting will be at Southwest Gas Corp.'s Building C, 5241 W. Spring Mountain Road, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Call Joanna at 876-0203 or Donna at 281-9001 for information.00