Nevada Legislature: Papers filed to launch recall effort against Assembly Speaker John Hambrick

Conservative activists filed formal paperwork Friday to launch a recall effort against Republican Nevada Assembly Speaker John Hambrick, who they say hasn’t taken a strong enough position against tax hikes proposed by GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said a notice of intent to recall was filed Friday. A.J. Maimbourg, who ran for the Assembly District 2 seat as part of the Independent American Party and lost to Hambrick by a 4-to-1 margin in November, said she would be leading the effort.

“We decided to make it symbolic. It’s Friday the 13th, and we’re Hambrick’s worst nightmare,” she said.

But actually removing Hambrick from office is a long shot. Maimbourg and her supporters would have 90 days to gather 4,116 signatures from people in Hambrick’s Las Vegas district who voted in the November election. The figure represents 25 percent of the voters who cast a ballot in the district this past election.

The signatures would have to be tabulated by the county clerk and authenticated by the Secretary of State. If the petition passed muster, the clerk would call a special election within 30 days.

The whole process could take weeks, meaning any special recall election would likely happen after the legislative session ends in early June.

Hambrick said he was aware of the filing but declined to comment, saying the Assembly had the people’s business to attend to.

No state lawmaker has been successful recalled since at least 1993, according to records from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.

Political action committees were set up last month to explore possible recalls of Hambrick and fellow southern Nevada Republican Assemblymen Stephen Silberkraus and Chris Edwards.

Conservative activist Chuck Muth said the committee exploring a Silberkraus recall has dropped its effort. Silberkraus said he’d talked to hundreds of people supportive of him after word of a potential recall came up, and doesn’t think there was enough public interest in mounting such an effort.

A committee considering a recall of Edwards hasn’t decided whether to move forward with the effort, according to chairman David Ballweg. That’s largely because of an ongoing police investigation into the possible extortion of Edwards.

“It really muddies our message up,” Ballweg said.

He added that conservatives are still concerned that Edwards will take a more moderate approach and vote in favor of a tax package.

“His mantra is that he hasn’t voted yet,” Ballweg said. “Once he votes, it’s too late.”

Associated Press writer Riley Snyder contributed to this report.