Christensen amends campaign report

Tuesday, March 30, 2004 | 11:34 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, has filed an amended campaign report detailing loans he made to his election campaign in 2002 and how he was paid back.

The amended report was filed Friday with Secretary of State Dean Heller who asked for more detailed information after a complaint that Christensen may have used some of his campaign money to finance his business.

Chief Deputy Secretary of State Renee Parker said today the amended report is being reviewed by the office and a certified public accountant.

"We want to make sure everything is reconciled," said Parker. "We want to go through it as quickly as possible.

Christensen said Monday he hopes that the receipts will clear up the matter so he can move on with his campaign.

He talked with a reporter before the Sun saw a copy of the report, and did not immediately return calls after the Sun obtained a copy.

He said he has been unwilling to share receipts of his expenses with the media because he feels that people who disagree with him politically have pushed the issue and he wants the Secretary of State's office, which he called "neutral" to handle the matter.

"My only intention is to cooperate with them 100 percent," he said. "My honest feeling is that's their job. Let them do their job. They're smart, they deal in these things all the time. They're politically neutral."

Christensen's expenses were called into question after a constituent complained in February. Christensen maintains he loaned $18,679 to his election campaign and then took reimbursement from the donations he received.

Christensen reported he repaid himself by spending campaign money on such things as campaign expenses, food and travel, including nearly $3,000 in mileage in 2003.

His amended report shows he collected $121,534 in campaign contributions and had $69,660 in cash as of Dec. 31, 2003.

His amended report says he made 12 loans ranging from $169 to $5,250. And he reimbursed himself in 2003 with 11 payments ranging from $480 to $5,000.

"None of the money received from the campaign was used to fund my business," he said in a letter to the secretary of state's office. He said he operated his consulting business from his home and did not have to buy any equipment or invest any capital.

The amended report shows he paid $4,000 to his brother Cory Christensen for campaign work.

The report includes cancelled checks, credit card statements and a detailed list of his mileage.

His report shows he donated $1,000 to the Bush-Cheney re-election effort in November last year. The campaign money was spent on everything from food at Burger King to drinks at Carson City saloons to car washes to goods from Best Buy.

During and after the 2003 Legislature, Christensen said he paid $2,030 to the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said Christensen repaid the Legislature for such things as phone, postage and travel. The lawmakers are allowed money for these items but sometimes their expenses exceed the allowance.

Christensen has retained Richard Bowler, a CPA in Las Vegas, to examine his campaign reports and gather the supporting data.