Republicans pile on challenges to Deane

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

Embattled Clark County Recorder Fran Deane has yet to file for re-election. But members of her political party aren't waiting for her to decide whether to run. They are betting that she has no future as a Republican candidate and are lining up for her job.

"I don't think she can win again," said Richard Deeds, 59, a member of the Clark County Republican executive committee and one of four party members who have filed papers to challenge Deane in the August primary.

"I don't think she is competent to run the office."

Police are investigating Deane for allegedly selling early access to public documents, and her vulnerability is making the usually obscure office one of the hottest on the ballot this year.

The race has drawn seven candidates so far, and at least one other person plans to file this week.

If Deane files, and she has indicated that she will, her Republican opponents will include Deeds, a Realtor with Century 21 Money World; Charles Harvey, Deane's second in charge at the recorder's office; Kevin Child, a Realtor and former GOP executive committee member; and Jim Edwards, a former recorder's office employee.

"Everyone figures she is pretty vulnerable," said David Damore, a political science professor at UNLV. "The Republicans may not want her to be their standard bearer in the general election, since she probably wouldn't win."

Metro Police searched Deane's home and office last month as part of its investigation into whether Deane provided documents and filings to some individuals before they were available to the public. Police are also looking into accusations that Deane received payments delivered in stuffed animals or dolls.

A grand jury last week subpoenaed thousands of documents from the recorder's office in what some county officials have described as an expansion of the investigation.

In 2003 the state Ethics Commission found Deane used her position for personal financial gain, and she agreed to pay a $5,000 fine.

"She has been ethically challenged from day one," Deeds said.

Tim Robison, executive director of the Clark County Republican Party, said the organization is not pushing candidates to run against Deane, but he acknowledged that her alleged malfeasance - and the publicity it has garnered - is probably a factor.

"That's why you have a lot of people getting out and wanting to run," he said, although he added: "We are by no means charging her guilty until a court of law has done its job."

Republicans desperately want to hold onto the office. When Deane won in 2002, GOP leaders called the victory a breakthrough, noting that most of the county's bureaucratic offices, such as recorder, clerk and assessor, have traditionally been solid Democrat.

But the nearly half-dozen Republican candidates could cause problems for the party if Deane decides to run.

With such a packed primary ballot, votes cast by Republicans disgusted with Deane's ethical problems might be divided among the other four candidates, giving Deane a shot at winning.

Of course, Republicans aren't the only ones lining up for the seat. Three Democrats and one independent candidate also want a shot.

"The publicity around Fran's problems creates a feeding frenzy," said Bob Spencer, a Democratic candidate and auditor in Clark County's Business Licensing Department.

A former 17-year employee of the recorder's office, Spencer was one of the whistle-blowers who revealed Deane's alleged misconduct in 2003. After that, he was transferred to his current position, which is not under Deane's oversight.

"What it says basically is that the Republican rank and file sees what she is doing and don't have a lot of confidence that she will reform herself," Spencer said of the GOP candidate field.

Others who have filed so far include Democrat Debbie Conway, a manager for Clark County's Business Development Office; Democrat Paul Allen Castle, a clerk for District Judge Jennifer Togliatti; and independent candidate Gil Eisner, a former executive deputy to the Los Angeles County Assessor.

It remains unclear whether Deane, who has a reputation for erratic behavior, will run. She has campaign signs up across the county, is listed as a candidate on the Clark County GOP's Web site and told those at the Clark County Republican Convention last month that she plans to run again.

Robison didn't know whether she would file, saying he "hasn't heard a lot from Fran Deane in the past few weeks."

Deane did not return several phone calls from the Sun.