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Election 2002 District attorney candidate Abbi Silver, above, has accused her opponent in the Republican primary, David Roger, below, of engaging in dirty politics. Roger says Silver has opted for a negative campaign because she trails him in recently conducted polls. Photo by JOHN LOCHER / REVIEW-JOURNAL District attorney candidate David Roger Photo by Gary Thompson.

Sunday, August 04, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

DA candidates trade charges

Accusations of dirty politics, desperation and negative campaigning voiced in GOP race

In the Republican primary race for district attorney, two hard-charging prosecutors are proving themselves as tenacious in politics as they are in the courtroom.

Last week, candidate Abbi Silver accused her primary opponent, David Roger, of engaging in dirty politics.

On Thursday, Silver accused Roger of personally trailing her to Boulder City and then replacing her campaign literature on residential doors with his own.

In addition, she said, about 50 of her campaign signs have disappeared. Silver said she can't say Roger's campaign is responsible for the missing signs, but she has filed a police report on the matter.

"It's disappointing to me that a colleague would basically follow behind me and take my literature from doors," she said. "It shows me he's very concerned about my candidacy."

An incredulous Roger denied the allegations, saying a desperate Silver has resorted to negative campaigning and is trying to damage his reputation with fabrications. He suspects Silver is making the allegations because she has realized she is losing the primary race.

"I am disappointed with Ms. Silver and her decision to engage in negative campaigning," Roger said. "Apparently, her decision to conduct herself this way is based in part on my 18-point lead in a recent poll."

Roger said the poll was conducted by Park Place Entertainment. A June poll conducted by Harrah's shows Roger with a 14-point lead. And a poll commissioned by the Review-Journal shows that Roger would fare better than Silver against the likely Democratic opponent, Mike Davidson.

The volleys came a little more than a week after Silver said Roger shouldn't have accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from adult nightclubs. Roger said he originally accepted the money because the clubs are legal businesses, but he returned it once the County Commission announced its intent to revise its ordinances regarding lap dances.

Continually finding himself having to respond to Silver's criticisms, Roger himself said Silver is a hypocrite because she sought solicitations from the same businesses. "A complete lie," Silver said. "Prove it. I've never solicited money from that industry."

Roger maintains Silver attempted to solicit a donation from Nye County brothel owner Chuck Lee, which Silver says is only a half-truth. She said she knew Lee only as a former Las Vegas police officer and a car dealer, and didn't know of his business venture in Nye County.

Roger said he will win the race "despite her efforts during the last seven months to tarnish my good reputation."

Such is the climate in the Republican primary, which features two veteran prosecutors with reputations for putting criminals behind bars.

Both are unaccustomed to losing, and each said they don't intend to do so when Republican voters go to the polls Sept. 3.

Roger, Silver and Davidson are seeking to replace District Attorney Stewart Bell, who is stepping down after two terms to run for a District Court judgeship.

Silver and Roger sat down with the Review-Journal last week and discussed their backgrounds and their political platforms.

Roger, 41, is a chief deputy district attorney and one of the two prosecutors who secured convictions against Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy in the slaying of Las Vegas gaming executive Ted Binion.

"My career has been extremely well-rounded," Roger said. "I've handled every type of case that the criminal division prosecutes."

Silver, 37, is also a chief deputy district attorney and the supervisor of the office's Domestic Violence/Stalking Unit. She said she has successfully prosecuted thousands of cases and is "the only candidate who is both a trial attorney and a chief administrator."

"My unit handled approximately 3,000 of the approximately 20,000 criminal cases filed last year at the district attorney's office," she said.

Roger said he is just as qualified to supervise the district attorney's office, noting that in addition to his law degree, he has a degree in business administration and a major in accounting.

"She is a fine attorney who has made significant contributions to this office," Roger said of his opponent. "However, I believe I am the most experienced candidate."

Roger said his platform includes establishing a Repeat Offender Unit in the office. Prosecutors in this unit would focus almost entirely on putting away criminals with extensive records.

"Repeat offenders are one of the biggest problems for this community," Roger said. "We know that 20 percent of the individuals we see commit 80 percent of the crimes. It is of vital importance for us to focus on these individuals."

Roger said if elected, he will establish a Cybercrime Prosecutorial Unit in the office to further pursue convictions of those who commit financial crimes.

"These prosecutors and investigators will also offer a great deal of assistance to sexual assault (prosecutors) and the cops," he said.

Roger said he will seek to establish a database of individuals convicted of crimes against the elderly to assist prosecutors. And, he will offer Spanish classes to district attorney's office investigators.

"The Hispanic community deserves to have equal access to the courts and the district attorney's office," he said.

Silver said if elected, she intends to create a major fraud unit within the office. She said right now, there is only one prosecutor who specializes in major fraud cases.

Silver said she will establish a special team that focuses on identity theft, credit card scams, embezzlement schemes and exploitation of the elderly. She also says prosecutors should seek prison time in each case in which a residential home is burglarized.

"I don't think we are as aggressive as we should be prosecuting the embezzlements, the ID thefts, and home burglaries," she said. "I watch these cases being reduced because there are not enough resources for prosecutors to specialize. If your house is burglarized, wouldn't you expect the DA to be asking for jail time?"

Silver advocates assigning more prosecutors to the Special Victims Unit off the district attorney's office to handle computer crimes involving children, child pornography and stalking. She said she strongly believes there is significant need for improvement in the Family Support Division, which deals with child support issues.

For example, she said when child support orders are issued by a judge, women are still forced to navigate their way through a complex judicial system that takes months before they may see an actual child support payment.

"Right then and there, when the judge establishes child support, we could say give us your first payment or even garnish," she said.

Silver said she will also implement as district attorney an increased vigilance toward the prosecution of gang crimes and repeat offenders.

"We should utilize the grand jury much more for gang and repeat offender cases," she said. "It's a quicker way to prosecute more people, and if they were indicted it would eventually make it unprofitable for these individuals to be in the community."