Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 | 5:54 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION Oct. 25 - 26, 2003
Controversy has followed Assemblyman Wendell Williams ever since he was first elected in 1986.
On the eve of the general election, Williams claimed that his opponent, then-Assemblyman Gene Collins, and two other men hit and kicked him during a scuffle one of the men said involved distribution of Collins' campaign literature. Williams was treated at University Medical Center and released.
Among other controversies involving Williams:
In 1995, Williams submitted his campaign finance reports two months late, reportedly led the Legislature in absenteeism and charged that a state Board of Education member threatened him after a hearing on teacher licensing.
Williams was sued by his ex-wife in 1997 for failing to pay $23,000 in child support. The assemblyman was ordered to pay that sum, which mushroomed to nearly $52,000 with interest. He wound up in Bankruptcy Court, where he agreed to repay the amount over five years.
In 2000, 2001 and 2002, Williams again missed campaign finance report filing deadlines. He racked up a $6,800 fine as of September 2001 in connection with a report that was due the previous January. He agreed to pay the fine in February 2002 after he was threatened with a lawsuit by the state attorney general's office. But in April 2002, the state sued Williams because he had only paid $3,000.
He subsequently paid the remaining $3,800, but missed other campaign finance filing deadlines for the 2002 campaign, resulting in an additional $15,000 fine, which he will have to pay through 2016. It was reported last month that Williams failed to pay a $100 monthly installment toward retirement of that penalty but he later made that payment to avoid another lawsuit from the state.
It was also reported in September that Williams drove with a suspended license for nearly two years and that an arrest warrant had been issued for him. He agreed to pay a $600 fine, and the warrant was canceled.
The negative publicity for the assemblyman kicked into higher gear when it was reported that he recommended the hiring this year of a clerical worker, Topazia "Briget" Jones, by the Community College of Southern Nevada. Williams denies making that recommendation.
Jones, who was hired by CCSN instructor and lobbyist John Cummings, fired and then reinstated, was also spotted on the Assembly floor wearing a jacket that said "Special Assistant to Wendell P. Williams." Williams said Jones purchased the jacket in Carson City and that the embroidery was her decision, but that he had no problem with it.
Cummings, a former teacher's union lobbyist who frequently dealt with Williams on education bills, has said that the "unauthorized" trips by Jones to Carson City resulted in the end of his 20-year friendship with the lawmaker. The hiring of Jones is now the subject of an inquiry launched by university system Chancellor Jane Nichols. Cummings would not return calls seeking comment.
Williams said he hired Jones -- the cousin of a close friend -- late last year to be a legislative aide. Her assignment was to research a proposal from Cummings to establish four-year teaching and nursing degrees at the community college, Williams said. But he said Cummings wanted to hire Jones after meeting her, which Williams said was shortly before Christmas.
During the legislative session, Williams said Jones continued to do some work for him, but drew her salary from the community college.
Things got worse for Williams when he was removed by Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, as chairman of the interim Legislative Committee on Education that meets between sessions. Perkins said he took the step because allegations against Williams "need to be cleared up." Williams said the removal was unwarranted precisely because the allegations have not been cleared up and because his constituents are now without representation on the committee.
It was then revealed that Williams agreed to pay Las Vegas $1,844 for personal calls he had made on a city-issued cell phone, an infraction that caused the city to suspend him without pay from his job for two weeks. And he was also ordered to repay $6,765 -- more than a month's salary -- after city officials questioned him about hours he said he logged for the city this year while serving in Carson City.
Williams said earlier this month on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE that he was doing work in Carson City for the Las Vegas EVOLVE -- Educational and Vocational Opportunities Leading to Valuable Experience -- program. He said he helped the city secure $3 million in federal funding for the program.
"Specifically, the city asked me to monitor legislation that dealt with ex-offenders on the EVOLVE program," Williams told Ralston. "Specifically, the city asked me to work on child-care projects. Specifically, the city asked me to locate employers who would hire those folks coming out of the EVOLVE program."
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