Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

POLITICS:

Rory Reid ad edits Brian Sandoval interview

Rory Reid ad

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid's latest ad edits an interview Brian Sandoval gave in February to make it into a more damning indictment of the former judge's ties to lobbyists.

The ad uses an interview the Republican gave on "Nevada Newsmakers" with host Sam Shad.

In the unedited version, Shad asks Sandoval if he was recruited to run by lobbyists Pete Ernaut and Greg Ferraro.

"They didn't ask me to run. They asked if I'd be interested in the position. And certainly yes, I talked to them.... They're folks that I trust and know very well," he said.

Shad then asked, "Are they running your campaign?"

Sandoval answered "Yes." But then quickly said, "They're not running my campaign. But they're advising my campaign."

Reid used those exchanges to create a different exchange. Reid's ad has this:

"Are they running your campaign," Shad asked. "Yes," Sandoval said. "They're folks that I trust."

Shad said in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun that the ad was "outrageous." He has asked the Reid campaign to take down the ad.

He said first, the interview was taken out of context. "If you watch the entire clip, it reveals something different than they inferred."

He also protested that using him in the clip "makes me appear, in my opinion, that I'm endorsing Rory Reid's campaign."

Shad has protested other campaigns for using clips from his show, which is generally protected under the "fair use" doctrine.

Mike Trask, spokesman for Reid, defended the ad and the use of the clip.

"Everything in the ad is true," he said. "It’s all in Brian’s words."

He said the campaign had no plans to take down the ad. Reid has opened his new line of attack on Sandoval's ties to lobbyists. He calls Ernaut and Ferraro "banking lobbyists" though they are much better known for representing major gaming companies, developers and utilities. On the day Sandoval announced he was running, he acknowledged to the Reno Gazette-Journal that the two lobbyists, who are also close friends, first approached him, and ultimately succeeded, in persuading him to run.

“Frankly, when they came to me the first time, seriously, I didn’t think it was a serious consideration,” he told the newspaper.

Both work as unpaid advisers to Sandoval's campaign, which some ethics experts have questioned.

Sandoval's campaign has responded that Reid also has ties to lobbyists. The Clark County Commission chairman is a partner at the law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins.

Sandoval quickly landed a job at Jones Vargas, one of the state’s other top law and lobbying practices, after he resigned his federal judgeship.

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