Friday, October 08, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Republican election official urged to end efforts to help Bush
Liberal group warns Heller of possible conflict of interest if Nevada vote is close
By RICHARD LAKE
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Secretary of State Dean Heller, the state's top election official, should stop speaking at Republican-sponsored campaign events to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, a liberal advocacy group said Thursday.
"He should be a statesman, not a politician," said Terence Tolbert, director of America Coming Together-Nevada.
The group, which backs Democratic candidates and liberal causes, charged that Heller was a "Republican operative" who would lose the confidence of voters should the election be particularly close in Nevada.
"Dean is obviously one of the most nonpartisan politicians in the state," countered Heller's spokesman, Steve George.
He pointed out that Heller was praised as bipartisan after the close 1998 U.S. Senate race between Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign.
At the time, Reid praised Heller for the decisions he made in supervising the recount, which Reid eventually won by 428 votes. "Dean Heller deserves a medal for doing bipartisan work," Reid said then.
In a letter faxed to Heller on Thursday, Tolbert said his group "respectfully requests that you cease all campaign activities, public and otherwise, on behalf of President George W. Bush's re-election campaign."
George said, "To me, this is just a form letter they sent to all secretaries of state without bothering to check into the facts."
The group said it was asking secretaries of state in two other states, both Republicans, to stop campaigning for Bush.
Heller was out of the office Thursday afternoon and unavailable for comment, George said. In a written statement, Heller called the issue "ridiculous."
"I find it appalling and regretful that any group would try to smear my good name strictly as a publicity stunt."
The group also charged that, as a Republican, Heller would have knowledge of what they called Republican-backed voter suppression efforts in Nevada.
"You want to have confidence that the person in charge of elections in this state is not partisan," Tolbert said, acknowledging he had no evidence that Heller had done anything illegal.
