Augustine proceedings draw little interest

Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 11 a.m.

While many legislators have declared their frustration with the outcome of the impeachment proceedings against state Controller Kathy Augustine, few said they have received serious complaints from taxpayers.

The entire process cost an estimated $150,000, though the total could go higher when the bill is finalized, said Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Augustine, meanwhile, emerged with a four-page written censure on a charge that she used state equipment for her 2002 campaign. She is the first constitutional officer in Nevada history to be impeached.

While the proceedings were the top topic of conversation among political insiders for weeks and were broadcast on cable TV, legislators and political observers say the public wasn't nearly as enthralled.

Even one of the most outspoken legislators on the issue, Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said he has received less than 15 e-mails from people statewide.

Coffin voted against his fellow Senate Democrats on the issue and complained that the proceedings against Augustine were politically motivated.

"A lot of Republicans wrote and said thank you for understanding this mess because it really was a slugfest between Republican officials and other kinds of folks," he said.

Coffin predicted that he would receive more flak from his colleagues than he will from constituents.

"I could sit there expressionless, silent and mute, not say anything and get an ulcer, but something was really wrong," he said.

Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, a longtime champion of trimming government spending, said even he has received just a handful of complaints. The pending discussion on property tax caps, he said, is weighing much more heavily on his constituents' minds.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said he has received 15 or 20 complaints.

"It's a mixed bag," he said. "I've heard everything from, 'Why in the heck are we doing this? It's a waste of time,' to 'How can it possibly be that she wasn't tossed out on her rear?'

"People who follow politics care. I think the general interest level is about the same as the interest in politics in general, which is not great, unfortunately."

The governor's office reports no complaints. By law, Gov. Kenny Guinn, who ordered the special session, had to refer Augustine to the Legislature for impeachment proceedings because she admitted to ethics violations before the state Ethics Commission.

"For a large section of the public, it wasn't an issue," said University of Nevada, Reno, political science professor Eric Herzik. "We're in a state where half the population doesn't even register to vote and maybe 60 percent turn out to vote, so politics is not always on people's minds.

"Ironically, for many of those people, this is proof of, 'This is why I don't get involved in government.' It kind of paints a negative broad brush of all officials. I would add I think that's very unfortunate."

That's what has many legislators worried. Several, including Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, are talking about clarifying the state's laws on how to deal with ethical lapses.

Perkins said he was already working on a slate of legislation to toughen rules on lawmkers, who he said should operate under a "no tolerance" ethics policy.

And Titus introduced a bill draft request Friday specifying that state officials cannot require employees to fill out their campaign expense reports during state time. The case against Augustine was weakened last week when the Legislative Counsel Bureau issued an opinion that Augustine did not break the law when she asked employees to fill out her campaign forms.

Titus also said she got very few e-mails from constituents on the matter.

"I think most people just figured it was business as usual," she said. "It just reinforces their cynicism."