Sunday, December 14, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reid's son leaves firm's capital office

WASHINGTON -- The youngest son of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has left the Washington office of a prominent Las Vegas law firm to take a job with the Greenspun Corp. in Henderson.

Key Reid, 28, had managed the Washington office of Lionel Sawyer & Collins since it opened on March 11, 2002. He was the only attorney in the office.

Former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who joined Lionel, Sawyer & Collins two years ago and lobbies Congress for the firm, worked with Key Reid during trips back to Washington.

"He let us know in November that he had decided to return to Nevada," Bryan said.

Key Reid could not be reached this week. He did not respond to voice messages left for him at Lionel Sawyer & Collins and at Greenspun Corp., a real estate development firm.

In July, the Los Angeles Times published a series of articles listing 17 senators and 11 House members whose relatives lobby or work for clients with business before Congress.

One of the articles spotlighted Reid and his four sons, who all were employed by Lionel Sawyer & Collins, the largest law firm in Nevada.

After being interviewed by the newspaper, Sen. Reid decided Key Reid and son-in-law Steven Barringer, also a lobbyist, should not be allowed to visit his office on behalf of clients.

Bryan said he did not think the newspaper series played a role in Key Reid's decision to leave Washington.

"Not as far as I know," Bryan said. "The senator (Reid) has a policy in which no member of his family can have personal contact with his office. I always handle those contacts. I don't think (the newspaper article) was a factor in Key's decision."

Brent Heberlee, a former Senate aide to Bryan and now a Washington lobbyist for SBC Communications has been hired to replace Key Reid, Bryan said.

Judicial candidacy

A Clark County prosecutor is the first to announce he will run for the new Las Vegas justice of the peace judicial seat to be created next year.

Bernie Zadrowski, a prosecutor with the district attorney's office, confirmed this week his candidacy for the new Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Department 9 seat, which will be created by Clark County next year.

Zadrowski said he believes he has the temperament and experience necessary for the post.

Las Vegas' Chief Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman said Zadrowski is the first person that she knows of who has officially declared his candidacy.

"I've heard names, but they would just be rumors at this point," she said.

Zimmerman said the creation of the new department in the already crowded Justice Court is a necessity because of the valley's population growth. She said statute requires that the Justice Courts should have a new court per every 100,000 people in the region.

An election for the new judgeship will be held in November.

Review-Journal writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.