Mona Shield Payne
Friday, April 12, 2013 | 7:10 p.m.
The bill to abolish the office of troubled Las Vegas Constable John Bonaventura has quietly died in the Senate Committee of Government Affairs without a vote Friday.
“I didn’t have the votes to get it out,” said Committee Chairman David Parks, D-Las Vegas. He said committee members had reservations about eliminating the elective office in the middle of Bonaventura’s term, which ends in January 2015.
The Clark County Commission has voted to scrap the office at the end of Bonaventura’s term. The bill would have eliminated the office July 1.
Bonaventura submitted written testimony to the committee calling Senate Bill 294 by Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson a “witch-hunt against a single individual that is destined to cost the public millions of dollars.”
The office is self-supporting and its elimination would mean a minimum revenue loss of $4 million to $6 million to Clark County, his statement said.
He said the bill goes against the will of the voters who elected him.
He has been accused of sparking wrongful termination allegations, failing to follow the direction of the Clark County Commission and other improper behavior.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie testified earlier this week that he was ready to assume the duties of the office with his staff either in July or October.
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