Close race expected between Provost, Hedger

Dan Kulin

Thursday, March 27, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

Age: 42.

Occupation: Municipal judge since 1996.

Education: Bachelor's degree from Governors State University, Ill.; law degree from John Marshall Law School, Chicago.

Endorsements: Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters.

Douglas Hedger

Age: 36.

Occupation: A chief deputy public defender for Clark County.

Education: Bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University; law degree from Arizona State University.

Endorsements: Henderson Chamber of Commerce, Southern Nevada Labor Council, Henderson Police Officers' Association and Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs.

The advantage Henderson Municipal Judge John Provost enjoyed as an incumbent running for re-election has evaporated, as high-profile endorsements have gone to challenger Douglas Hedger while potentially damaging stories have surfaced about Provost, a political expert says.

Taken alone, the endorsements from the city's mayor and from law enforcement groups, including the Henderson police officers union, aren't enough to turn an election. Neither are stories about a campaign fund-raiser invitation possibly being sent from a court fax machine, or Provost showing up as a contestant on an obscure game show.

Provost is also the target of a newly formed political action committee, which is mailing Henderson voters anti-Provost material that mentions Provost's pay-raise lawsuit against the city and the campaign fax.

But taken all together the stream of pro-Hedger and anti-Provost developments in the race for the Dept. 2 seat have probably erased whatever advantage Provost entered the race with, said Michael Bowers, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"It's like a water torture: drip, drip, drip. Every little thing chips away (at Provost's campaign)," Bowers said.

Hedger's endorsements from law enforcement groups should be especially helpful because they tell voters Hedger, a chief deputy public defender for Clark County, is a "law and order" candidate, Bowers said.

Tim O'Neill, a Henderson police officer and president of the Henderson Police Officers' Association, said the group's endorsement went to Hedger because "we've always had some reservations about Judge Provost."

He refused to elaborate, saying if Provost wins the election the police will still have to work with the judge.

The Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, an organization made up of area police officer unions, also endorsed Hedger, following the endorsement of the Henderson group.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson's endorsement of Hedger should also help the challenger, because while some voters might not know Hedger, they probably know of the mayor, Bowers said.

Gibson said he decided to get involved in the judge's race because he is unhappy with the way Provost dealt with, or failed to deal with, a court employee's discrimination complaint. Gibson declined to discuss details of the matter, saying it involves personnel, but he was unhappy with the ultimate solution: moving a division from the courthouse to the city attorney's office, which the council approved on Nov. 5.

Provost could have avoided the move if he had better responded to the complaints about one of his court employees, the mayor said.

Provost said the city's Human Resources Department, not Provost, was responsible for dealing with the dispute.

"It's way outside my area," Provost said. "(Gibson) is just looking for political fodder for his candidate."

Provost, a judge since 1996, says the criticisms are either based on misinformation or have nothing to do with his actions in the courtroom.

"They're not saying I'm doing a bad job on the bench. It's just all this collateral stuff." Provost said.

For example, Hedger says Provost's decision to sue the city over pay raises last year also reflects poorly on the judge.

"That lawsuit and that focus on money took away from respect the public needs to have for judges," Hedger said. If elected, Hedger said he would take a pay cut from about $130,000 a year as a public defender to about $102,000 a year.

Provost says a lawsuit was the proper way to resolve the disagreement over whether a city law said the judges should get annual raises equal to the 8 1/2 percent raises given to other city supervisors or 3 1/2 percent annual raises.

"There was a dispute and the only way to determine who was right was to have a judge do it," Provost said. "People file suits every day to resolve disputes."

Provost and fellow Municipal Judge Ken Proctor dropped the lawsuit after being sharply criticized by Henderson city officials.

"We decided it wasn't worth it," Provost said.

Working against Provost on another front is Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, a community activist from Las Vegas who made a name for herself when she filed an ethics complaint more than a year ago against former Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera. Herrera was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, and a frustrated Mayo-DeRiso started a political action committee to search for elected officials' ethical lapses.

In this election Mayo-DeRiso's PAC, Citizens for Ethics in Politics, is going only after Provost.

The PAC is going after Provost for several reasons, including the pay-raise lawsuit, the judge's appearance on a game show and his alleged use of a courthouse fax machine to send an invitation to a campaign fund-raiser, she said.

Provost said he was a contestant on the game show "Friend or Foe" about a year ago and he doesn't think it was a big deal. Mayo-DeRiso said the appearance was not very "judge-like."

On the fax, which showed Provost's courthouse fax number as the sender, the judge says he doesn't know how it ended up with that stamp, since he sent all of the invitations to the fund raiser from his home.

Provost said he thinks voters won't be swayed by the PAC's efforts.

"The voters are very savvy. They know what's going on and they don't like mudslinging," Provost said.

Provost is also fielding attacks from Hedger.

A public defender for the past 12 years, the challenger says although he has never gone before Provost, he has heard that defendants in his courtroom are "treated better if they have a high-priced attorney."

Hedger said he does not have any evidence to back up that charge.

John G. Watkins, one of the top defense attorneys in the area who regularly appears before Provost, said Hedger's accusation is "absolutely false."

Provost said the accusation is "just talk," and many of the area's high-priced defense attorneys lose their cases when they appear before him.

Provost is also critical of Hedger's campaign pledge to require more counseling for those convicted in the misdemeanor domestic battery and driving under the influence cases handled by the municipal court.

"I think it's easy to say that because he doesn't know what we do. It's easy to say 'Do more' ... But that's politics for you," Provost said. Those convicted of domestic violence in municipal court already are required to attend counseling for six months, and the judge can add another six months of counseling to the sentence, Provost said.

In dealing with those who may have substance abuse problems, Provost said he relies on the counselors to determine what is needed.

A difference between Provost and Hedger that would become clearly visible to the voters is their opposing views on whether to broadcast court proceedings over the Internet.

Provost is planning to equip his courtroom for continuous broadcasting over the Internet. The judge says the link will let the public keep an eye on what goes on in the court and learn about the legal process.

Hedger says he would close the courtroom's cyberspace connection if elected. Any public education benefit of the connection would be far outweighed by the camera's potential to turn the courtroom into a local version of "Judge Judy," he said.

Because only two candidates are running for Henderson's District 2 judge's seat, the winner of the election will be determined in the April 8 primary election. Early voting ends April 4.