Lawmaker Cegavske quits job as television consultant

Thursday, March 10, 2005 | 10:53 a.m.

State Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, ended her consulting relationship with KVBC Channel 3 Wednesday afternoon in a mutual agreement with station owner and interim university system chancellor Jim Rogers.

Rogers, chairman of Sunbelt Communications, was paying Cegavske $3,000 a month to consult with the local news station on education and legislative issues.

The arrangement was ended after the Nevada Ethics Commission ruled that there were no ethics violations evident in the way Cegavske described her employment. The commission, however, also ruled that there was insufficient evidence to make a full decision based on Cegavske's testimony alone, executive director Stacy Jennings said.

Cegavske had sought the commission's opinion after several media reports questioned whether her consulting work was a conflict of interest.

"I have always in my career taken great pride in serving the public while maintaining the highest ethical standards and complying with all laws," Cegavske said in a written statement. "Even though this relationship could continue, Sunbelt and I have decided it is in our mutual best interest to terminate it."

Cegavske declined to comment further on the issue, saying she wanted to "move on.'

There was a question about whether Cegavske had a conflict of interest because the state university system is funded by the Legislature. There were also journalism ethics concerns given that the TV station was paying a state lawmaker for help.

Rogers, currently interim chancellor of the University and Community College System of Nevada, said he didn't think they did anything wrong but that he didn't want there to be a perception of impropriety.

"I don't think either one of us wants anybody questioning us," Rogers said. "It's very distracting and very unpleasant and I think for the good of all that's the best way to do it."

Rogers said he hired Cegavske for her expertise in education and legislative matters, and that she primarily just explained trends in education and the legislative process to his reporters.

There was no pressure on Cegavske to ever vote for anything Rogers wanted or pressure on the newsroom to do a story Cegavske wanted, Rogers said.

In giving its advisory opinion Wednesday, the ethics commission considered three laws in evaluating whether Cegavske's consultant work might have violated Nevada ethics rules, Jennings said. The commission considered whether Cegavske might have disclosed any "insider" information to the news station that she gained as a lawmaker, whether she used her position as a lawmaker to gain the employment, and whether the employment could be seen as unduly influencing Cegavske.

The commission found that there was no evidence in Cegavske's testimony to indicate she violated any of those laws, Jennings said.

If a complaint is filed against the senator, the commission would then have the power to investigate and interview others about the relationship to reach an official opinion.