Editorial: Expand the ‘cooling-off’ ethics laws

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 9:04 a.m.

A routine construction project in the city of Henderson has taken on a non-routine aspect. Seeking to improve a 3.5-acre parcel that it owns on the southeast corner of Basic Road and Water Street, the city advertised for proposals to construct a building containing office and retail space. On Tuesday the City Council considered two proposals. It authorized city staff to begin final negotiations on the one submitted by builder John Simmons and architect Ron Hall.

All routine, except -- John Simmons worked 23 years for the city of Henderson. When he retired this past February, he was the city's construction manager. No one is saying that Simmons did anything illegal or unethical, but the recently retired city construction manager winning a competitive bid on a city construction project creates the appearance of a conflict. Adding to the appearance is that the Simmons/Hall bid was $900,000 higher than the competitor's. Also, he had only one committed tenant, as opposed to the competing bidder's three. Additionally, unlike the competing bid, the Simmons/Hall proposal requests $1.4 million in city redevelopment funds.

Both proposals seek the land for free. The competing bid sought all of the 3.5 acres, which is valued at $1.3 million. Simmons and Hall, however, asked for only $834,000 worth of the land. Also, the state recently disciplined the general contractor's license of the competing developer. Ultimately it became a judgment call for the City Council and perhaps its 4-1 vote in favor of Simmons/Hall was correct. Nevertheless, because of Simmons' long-term association with the city, and in particular the position he held, the vote leads to questions of whether Simmons had an advantage.

Such dilemmas can be avoided. The state and Clark County governments have approved a "cooling-off" period for former elected officials and top employees, meaning they can't lobby their former colleagues for a year. The state also prohibits former Public Utilities Commission employees from seeking employment at utilities for a year after they leave the PUC. In our view, the cooling-off concept should be expanded. Former elected officials and top government officials should be prohibited from doing any business with their former employers for a year.