Ethics panel finds against Augustine

Friday, Sept. 3, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A panel of the state Ethics Commission today found there was "just and sufficient cause" to go forward with a complaint against state Controller Kathy Augustine for using government time and equipment in her re-election campaign.

The full commission will meet Sept. 22 in Carson City to determine whether Augustine violated the ethics laws.

The panel, composed of commission chairman Rick Hsu and member Timothy Cashman, also asked the full commission to determine whether Augustine, now in her second term, used her political office improperly to get an advantage in the campaign.

The panel asked the commission to see if Augustine improperly influenced her state staff to join in campaign work.

But the panel dismissed the complaint that she used state workers to do campaign work. Commission Director Stacy Jennings said the law prohibiting this type of conduct was passed after the alleged acts took place. The law cannot be applied retroactively, she said.

Augustine, reached in New York where she attended the National Republican Convention, said the panel decision "comes as no surprise," but she declined to comment further.

The investigation into Augustine started with a complaint from Jennifer Normington, the former secretary to the controller. In early 2003 she told the attorney general's office that she worked during state time on campaign documents.

The state attorney general's office filed the complaint with the ethics commission in July but it decided not to pursue criminal charges. The complaint could result in impeachment of Augustine and a trial in the Legislature, if the allegations are sustained.