Requirements for candidates draws criticism at Legislature

Monday, May 5, 2003 | 9:52 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, wonders if the Legislature is going too far in trying to impose requirements on candidates for elected office.

"The voters ought to have the right to select a damn fool if they want," Care said during discussion of Assembly Bill 114, which would require sheriff candidates to meet certain requirements.

The first version of the bill required a sheriff or a constable to be 21 years old by the time he or she takes office. A sheriff or a constable should be old enough to enter a bar to make an arrest or serve papers, Carson City Clerk Alan Glover told the Senate Government Affairs Committee on Friday.

But the bill was amended in the Assembly to require a candidate for sheriff to be certified by the Peace Officers Standards Commission at the time he files his candidacy.

Law enforcement officials asked the Senate committee to amend the bill to allow the sheriff's candidacy for anyone who had prior training by the standards commission.

Jim Nadeau, representing the Nevada Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Association, said: "A person running for sheriff should have law enforcement experience."

Ronald Dreher of the Peace Officers Research Association of Nevada and Gary Wolff, a lobbyist for the Nevada Highway Patrol Troopers Association, echoed Nadeau's comments. They also agreed that somebody who had been trained by POST previously should be eligible, even if the certification has expired.

But Care called it "another bill to protect the voters from themselves." He said it would eliminate a "lot of good people who are qualified." He noted there have been prior efforts this session to impose qualifications on some county elected officials.

Dreher said the only sheriff serving now who does not have peace officer status is Pat Whitten of Storey County. This bill would grandfather him in.

Janine Hansen, representing Eagle Forum, said the bill originated after her nephew Nicholas Hansen ran for constable in Henderson last election. One of his opponents sought to remove him from the ballot because he did not have prior law enforcement experience.

The Nevada Supreme Court rejected the argument and allowed Hansen to remain on the ballot, but he was defeated in the election.

The Committee also heard testimony on Assembly Bill 235 that would provide for a voters' bill of rights.

Renee Parker, chief deputy secretary of state, said the bill would help voters understand their rights by providing them assistance in voting, instruction on the use of voting machines, ensure access to the voting units and promote the right not to be "intimidated, threatened or coerced."