Friday, May 7, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said Thursday that new evidence shows the university board of regents violated Nevada's open-meeting law several times before it held an illegal closed-door session on alleged problems at the Community College of Southern Nevada.
Giunchigliani, who works for the college, sent a letter to Attorney General Brian Sandoval Wednesday urging him to seek the harshest punishment for the regents, which she said could result in removing some of them from office.
"They were very much aware" of the open-meeting law at the time they held their closed-door session, Giunchigliani said. They had been warned by the attorney general's office in the past about their violations.
Regent Chairman Stavros Anthony said he was unaware of Giunchigliani's request, but added, "She can ask the attorney general anything she wants. My contention is that this board has done the right thing all along. If she wants to go to the attorney general's office for an opinion, she can do that."
Sandoval sued the regents in January in District Court in Las Vegas seeking to void the demotions of former community college President Ron Remington and lobbyist John Cummings on grounds that the regents repeatedly violated Nevada's open-meeting law.
Tom Sargent, a spokesman for Sandoval, said Thursday the policy of the attorney general is if there are repeated prior violations of the open-meeting law, it will seek stricter punishments. "Part of the merits in this case is there has been a past history of violations by the regents," he said.
Giunchigliani said that a lawyer has found in court documents that the attorney general's office, before Sandoval took over, had issued a final warning letter against the regents for violations of the open-meeting law. That letter, written in 2000 by former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, warned regents against discussing former President CCSN Richard Moore in private.
Five of 13 board members have joined the board since 2000.
Giunchigliani also said that Walt Ayers, assistant general counsel to the university, had written a legal opinion that student government officers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas were public officials and meetings to discuss their character must be held in open session.
Giunchigliani said the Ayers opinion was issued in 2002. "They (the regents) can't hide behind 'I didn't know."'
She also said the regents couldn't hide behind the advice given by their counsel that they could hold the closed-door session.
The regents met in closed session Nov. 17 and 20, 2003, to review an investigative report of more than 1,000 pages. In open session they voted 7-6 to remove Remington from his job. They also voted to send Cummings back to the faculty and to select an administrative officer that might consider firing him.
A motion not to renew the contract of Giunchigliani failed on a 4-9 vote. She worked for Cummings at the community college.
Chancellor Jane Nichols said this morning before a meeting of the regents that the previous opinion did not apply to the regents' November meetings.
The earlier meeting of the student government was not properly posted, and officials were specifically discussing student government leaders in their elected roles.
The November meeting was properly noticed, she said, and regents discussed Giunchigliani only in her role as a community college employee.
"The two were not analogous at all," she said.
Those who voted to take the disciplinary actions apparently were angry that Remington, Cummings and Giunchigliani reportedly pushed a bill in the 2003 Legislature to to allow the college to offer some four-year degrees, against the wishes of the regents. She also supported a bill to limit the size of the regents board.
Remington, Cummings and Giunchigliani were not allowed in the meeting to defend themselves.
The chancellor said Giunchighliani "is playing an interesting role. I don't know if she is playing an employee of the community college or a member of the Legislature."
Sargent declined to say what penalty Sandoval would seek. But he said, "Our record in the past year and a half is strict enforcement of the open-meeting law and we will continue to do so."
Sargent said the present case "will be pursued on its merits alone" and that will include considering regents' past violations.
Giunchigliani also urged Sandoval to speed up processing of the civil suit. Sargent said the suit is moving ahead.
archive
