AG: City officials didn’t violate law

Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005 | 8:41 a.m.

The Nevada attorney general's office has ruled that Henderson did not violate the state's open meeting law in hiring Alan Kerstein as the city's police chief.

The attorney general's office, which investigated a complaint filed by the Las Vegas Sun, said a series of "meet and greet" gatherings among council members and Kerstein did not amount to a meeting under the open meeting law.

On July 14, Kerstein met individually with Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers and Councilman Andy Hafen, and collectively with Mayor Jim Gibson and Councilman Jack Clark. The council did not vote on confirming Kerstein until Aug. 16.

There was no quorum at any of the July meetings and no council member indicated an acceptance of Kerstein as police chief, the attorney general's report said. After the informal meetings, council members did not share their thoughts about him until Aug. 16, the report added.

The attorney general's office, however, expressed concern over comments made to the Sun by Assistant City Manager Mark Calhoun that a candidate would not be picked until after the "meet and greet" with the council. The office recommended that under similar circumstances, Henderson clearly state the process to the public to prevent the appearance of impropriety.