Democrats take shot at constitutional offices

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

Chuck Eby

The state controller pays the bills and issues financial reports. But the race for the obscure $80,000-a-year job is turning into one of the more salacious on the ballot.

First you have Republican incumbent Kathy Augustine, who has been toting both airline and political baggage as a result of her travel and the $143 million in outstanding debt her office hasn't collected.

Then you have a challenger who, funded and backed by Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, has perhaps the best shot for Democrats to save face in the six constitutional offices.

Republicans currently hold five of the six. Democratic Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa is not seeking re-election and the GOP has a strong candidate in that race.

So, the attention is turning to the oft-ignored state controller's office, with Augustine saying she's made improvements to the office and Democrat John Lee saying his business acumen is what is needed to right the office.

"This job hasn't been handled the way you would handle your own business," said Lee, a three-term assemblyman who owns three Las Vegas businesses. "I'm not saying she's done a bad job, I'm saying she hasn't done her job at all."

Lisa Black

Augustine, a former state senator and assemblywoman, said she has made improvements, including opening a Las Vegas office and integrating some finance systems so that people who owe money to the Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, can't renew their registration without paying the fees owed.

"I've maintained good rapport with the Legislature since my legislative days," Augustine said. "I'm proud of the work this office has done."

Lee hits Augustine on two main points -- her travel and the debt collection.

"She's just an all-expense paid-vacation junket queen," Lee said, referring to 58 trips Augustine has taken while controller. "We end up paying for it all the time."

Augustine, a former Delta employee, said she flies for free and typically attends trips in which her rooms and expenses are also picked up by a third party.

Lee argues the state is still paying her salary and is missing her service to the office, especially when she takes long trips -- like one to Taiwan and another which involved two weeks at a leadership school in Massachusetts.

Augustine said the Taiwan trip was necessary because that government expected a state official to meet with its federal-level officials. And, she said, the leadership school didn't cost the state a dime.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, in August of 2001, wrote Augustine a letter chastising her for unnecessary travel. Raggio and Arberry chair the Senate and Assembly money committees and wrote the letter based on a 2000 audit of the controller's office.

Lee also says Augustine should have better control over the state's debt collection efforts, arguing debt cases handled by two out-of-state firms should be turned back over to the controller's office.

Augustine said her office's budget prohibits her from assigning enough people to collect debt. And, she said, the current system works because the two companies are pros at collections.

"We don't pay if they don't collect," she said.

Nevada is currently netting about $100,000 in debt collections each month, Augustine said.

A poll conducted Sept. 20 to 22 of 446 registered voters, which actually shows the race is a toss-up.

The poll, which was conducted by MRC Group, has a margin of error of 4.6 percent. About 40 percent of voters said they would select Augustine, while 27 percent would vote for Lee. However, 33 percent of voters said they did not know whom they would select.