Editorial: The rules apply to all

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003 | 9 a.m.

For a man who chairs the Assembly Education Committee and has a Las Vegas elementary school named after him, Assemblyman Wendell Williams has been setting a terrible example.

On July 30 he was supposed to be in court, answering a citation for aggressive driving issued to him in the Reno-Carson City area by the Nevada Highway Patrol. But he never showed up, prompting the judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. Subsequent investigation revealed he was driving with a suspended license at the time of his citation. His license had been suspended Oct. 7, 2001, after he failed to appear in Reno Justice Court to answer a speeding ticket issued the previous April. It strains credulity when Williams explains that he was unaware of his scheduled court appearance and that he was driving illegally because he was unaware that his license had ever been suspended.

This isn't the first time Williams has acted as if he is above the rules. In the late 1990s, Williams' former wife had to go to court to collect back child-support payments from him. And, as a candidate during election years, Williams is notorious for failing to file timely campaign finance disclosure forms. In the Legislature, Williams helps make the laws. In his role as a citizen, he should stop flouting them.