Ethics panel: Judge candidate has 10 days to change campaign signs

By Steve Kanigher

Thursday, May 5, 2011 | 3:01 p.m.

A state judicial ethics panel today ordered North Las Vegas municipal judge candidate Marsha Kimble-Simms to change her campaign signs and printed material because they falsely state she is a "Pro Tem Judge."

The Nevada Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices gave Kimble-Simms 10 days to correct that impression, ruling that it amounted to an unfair election practice and a violation of judicial ethics. The panel suggested she either eliminate the statement or amend it using phrases such as "former" or "previous service as."

Kimble-Simms, a candidate for the city's Department 1 post, is running against Catherine Ramsey. The judicial panel ruling came after both candidates filed election complaints against each other, challenging claims they are making about their own qualifications for office.

Ramsey had charged that Kimble-Simms was misleading the public by claiming to be an incumbent pro-tem judicial officer. Kimble-Simms defended herself by saying that it was factual. But the judicial panel ruled otherwise, stating that her service as a pro tem Justice of the Peace ended Jan. 1, 2009.

The panel also tossed out Kimble-Simms' claim that Ramsey engaged in an unfair election practice by stating in the campaign Ramsey's 25 years of legal experience.