Ethics Commission counsel is resigning

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | 9:50 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Ethics Commission counsel Nancy Lee Varnum, who said there has been a conflict with the commission's executive director, Stacey Jennings, is resigning.

Varnum, in a memo to the Senate Government Affairs Committee, said she opposes Assembly Bill 538 that would give Jennings supervisory authority over the commission's counsel.

"In my opinion, that arrangement creates a big conflict of interest for the commission's legal counsel," Varnum said. "In fact, attempts by the present executive director to subordinate the commission's legal counsel to the executive director have already created a conflict between the two positions."

She said the counsel should report to the commission, not the executive director.

"It is unclear to me how the attorney for the commission can be the commission's legal adviser while being required to take direction from and be supervised by the commission's employee, the executive director (particularly when the executive director is not an attorney)."

Jennings could not be reached for comment Monday.

Jennings was criticized last week by Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, as not being objective when talking to reporters about potential cases. He said Jennings has compromised the integrity of the commission.

Amodei, during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, played a videotape of a television interview of Jennings in which she commented on possible conflict of interest allegations involving Sens. Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson, and Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas.

Questions arose in the news media about separate contracts the two senators had entered into. On the television program, Jennings said the Tiffany contract with the state Department of Motor Vehicles "could be a possible violation of law."

Both women terminated their contracts. Jennings, on the television program, said that "doesn't mean they're out of the woods, yet."

It has not been disclosed if complaints were filed with the Ethics Commission, but Amodei said the comments indicate that a decision may have been made before an investigation was conducted.