Public employees eye posts in Legislature

Kirsten Searer

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 | 11:35 a.m.

It's no glamour job, but several people are taking a calculated risk this year so they have the opportunity to serve in the Legislature.

The Nevada Supreme Court has yet to decide whether city, county and state employees can legally serve in the Legislature. Yet on Monday, the first day candidates could file for office, at least three public employees put in their names as candidates.

"We'll file them until (the Supreme Court justices) make a decision," Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval asked the Supreme Court to rule on the issue, but until there is a decision the controversy "isn't preventing anybody from running," said Tom Sargent, spokesman for Sandoval.

It's possible that if they run successful campaigns, the candidates would have to choose between their day jobs and their posts at the Legislature.

Candidates who filed on Monday include: Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor; Assemblyman John Oceguera, D-North Las Vegas, a North Las Vegas fire captain; and University Medical Center nurse Bill Dolan, a Republican from North Las Vegas who filed for an Assembly seat.

Dolan said Monday morning that he thinks the state Supreme Court will rule in favor of allowing county employees to run for office.

If not "we'll play by the rules," Dolan said.

He is running for Assembly District 1, the seat previously held by Democrat Tom Collins.

Republican Anthony Bandiero, who is on contract to teach at the Summit View Correctional Facility, said he will allow his contract to run out before the election. He is running for Assembly District 29.

And Democrat Moises "Mo" Denis, a computer network technician for the Public Utilities Commission, also has said he would resign his job if necessary. As of Monday afternoon, he had not yet filed for office, but planned to run for the Assembly.

The controversy has been playing out for months, and the state Supreme Court is expected to have the final say. Each state's supreme court is regarded as the ultimate authority on their state's constitution. It's unclear when the court will rule.

In February, Sandoval issued an opinion that only state employees, including community college and university employees, should be prohibited from serving in the Legislature. City and county employees could still serve in the Legislature, he wrote.

Secretary of State Dean Heller asked for a final ruling from the state Supreme Court on whether all types of employees could serve.

On Wednesday, the Legislative Council Bureau, the legal arm of the Legislature, will issue its opinion. Director Lorne Malkiewich said he can't specify what the bureau will determine.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court could ask for oral arguments on the issue, meaning that candidates would have to wait even longer to hear about their fate.

In the meantime, two other public officials face different quandaries.

Deputy District Attorney Jerry Tao, a Democrat who is running for County Commission District C, has said he would quit his job should he win a spot on the county commission.

And Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said he is still waiting for final word on whether he is in violation of the Federal Hatch Act, which specifies that employees who control or direct federal funds cannot serve in public office.

The Henderson Police Department, where Perkins is a deputy chief, deals with federal funds, but the city has taken steps to ensure Perkins isn't in control of federal money.

Perkins said Monday he intends to file sometime in the next two weeks, even though the Office of the Special Counsel has given mixed messages over whether he is in violation of the Hatch Act.

"They told me I had a couple of things I needed to do and I could file for office," Perkins said. "We've accomplished all that."