'Nevada ethics' doesn't have to be an oxymoron

Today, I'm going to welcome our state legislators to Carson City by writing about ethics. I know it's risky to mention Nevada politicians and ethics in the same sentence but I'm going to do it anyway, just this once.

In the wake of the shameful Kathy Augustine affair, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, issued the understatement of the year. "I have huge concerns that the public is losing confidence in its government," he told the Associated Press. I'll give Perkins and the Assembly credit for impeaching State Controller Augustine on ethics charges late last year, but state senators showed the Legislature's true ethical colors by accepting an "everybody does it" defense and acquitting her even though she ran her 2002 reelection campaign out of her office at taxpayer expense.

Augustine celebrated her "victory" by announcing her candidacy for the Northern Nevada congressional seat currently held by Rep. Jim Gibbons. This despite the fact she considers herself "too big for this hick state" (her words, not mine). I'd describe the whole Augustine imbroglio as mind-boggling or bizarre but when it comes to Nevada politics, anything is possible.

Back in the 1960s, notorious Northern Nevada brothel owner Joe Conforte had his own personal state senator, the colorful Jim "Slats" Slattery, who was a favorite of the capital press corps because of his outrageous quotes on serious political issues. Whenever we needed a headline-grabbing quote, we went to Slats and he rarely disappointed us.

He also organized a legislative golf tournament that Conforte financed. I actually "won" a set of golf clubs one year by shooting the highest score in that tournament and later sold the clubs for $100, thereby becoming part of the corrupt system I'm criticizing today. But that was then and this is now.

In his recent AP interview, Assembly Speaker Perkins said he would introduce legislation that would remove state officials from office if they violate ethics laws three times. That reminds me of Major League Baseball's timid approach to the problem of performance-enhancing drugs. Three strikes and you're out. In other words, state officials are invited to violate ethics laws twice before suffering any meaningful consequences. Translation: They aren't serious about ethics violations in a clear attempt to paper over the problem.

Of course Augustine isn't the only transgressor of state ethics laws. Assemblyman Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, was fined $4,500 last April for 52 campaign finance law violations and former Las Vegas Councilwoman Janet Moncrief was recalled for filing false campaign reports. And then there was Assemblyman Wendell Williams of Las Vegas, who was mired in a sea of ethical violations in recent years.

Perkins' proposed legislation would also provide better protection for state government whistle-blowers and establish clear guidelines for employees of state officials running for reelection. But one thing his bill doesn't do is to strengthen the mostly toothless State Ethics Commission. According to Ethics Commissioner Bill Flangas, the commission can't fine a public official unless it can prove that the alleged violation was "willful," which provides a handy escape clause for wayward officials.

Last May, the commission found Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman guilty of using his position to help his son's business but the mayor wasn't fined because commissioners couldn't decide whether his violation was willful. Give me a break! Goodman is a very smart attorney who knows exactly what he's doing at all times.

Flangas would solve the problem by removing the word "willful" from the legislation. That would make it easier for the commission to prove violations and give officials less "wiggle room" for ethical hanky-panky. Clark County commissioners proposed a different solution by defining a willful violation as one where the public official wasn't coerced and knew, or reasonably should have known, the consequences of his or her actions. In the Augustine case, the Ethics Commission actually fined her $15,000 after she admitted that her actions were willful.

Perkins is optimistic that his bill will pass. "At the end of the day, it'll be very difficult for any legislator to not be for ethics," he declared. Yes, but don't hold your breath waiting for real ethics reform. After all, in Nevada, everybody does it.

IRAQ: Last Monday, the day after Iraq's historic national elections, the Reno Gazette-Journal bannered on page one a local story about alleged flaws in the Patriot Act. Which tells you everything you need to know about the RGJ's news judgment and/or its political agenda. We report, you decide.

- Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City.