Gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus called it "pay to play": her opponent's alleged practice of taking donations from developers shortly before or after he voted in favor of approvals the developers sought from his City Council.
But Titus was wrong about one of the cases she cited.
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As reported on Titus' Web site, www.paytoplaywithjim.com, developer RDS Associates did donate $1,000 to Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson in December 2005. And RDS did seek a zoning change from the Henderson council in February 2006.
Titus said the change was approved. But Gibson and the council unanimously denied the change based on protests from residents, according to minutes of the meeting.
"Titus' claim is simply reckless and irresponsible," RDS President Rick Smith said in a statement issued Monday. "To have my name and my reputation maligned by being falsely linked to some concocted impropriety is not only disheartening, it is infuriating."
After learning of the error, Titus personally apologized to Smith and removed the reference from the Web site, her spokeswoman, Jennifer Knight, said Monday.
A spokesman for Smith said he received a faxed letter from Titus, but Smith said he had not seen the letter and did not consider a fax to a representative a "personal apology."
According to the city's records, the council considered Smith's request to change a Green Valley property's zoning from residential to commercial on Feb. 7. But after several residents voiced their objections to Smith's plan to put an office building on the site, the council agreed to postpone a decision on the change.
The council looked at Smith's request again on Feb. 21. At that meeting, 30 residents expressed their opposition to the proposal.
They said they were afraid that if Smith got the change, other surrounding properties would be justified in seeking changes to commercial, leading to a business development in the middle of the neighborhood.
After hearing the objections, the Henderson council unanimously denied Smith's request.
"I wanted the zone change; it's a great use for the property," Smith said of his proposal. "But the bottom line is, the mayor and the City Council said 'no.' I do not like the result, but I respect the integrity of those elected officials like Mayor Gibson, who continue to listen to their entire constituency."
Smith said he is a Republican who plans to contribute to Rep. Jim Gibbons' gubernatorial campaign. He said he never expected anything in return for his $1,000 donation.
"I made a political contribution in good faith," he said. "I wasn't looking for a payoff at the end of the rainbow."
One of the residents who led the charge against Smith's development said he was impressed with the consideration the residents got from Gibson and the council members, most of whom met with the residents to hear their side.
"Emphatically, without any reservations whatsoever, I think we were treated fairly and that the process worked," said Rayner Graeber, whose house is about 500 yards down the street from Smith's property.
Although Titus removed the reference to Smith, she insisted the rest of her allegations remained valid. "The senator still stands by her commitment to eliminate pay-to-play," Knight said. "The pattern is still there. There are enough contributors that he has voted for to show a pattern."
The Web site documents 14 other instances in which Gibson contributions could be matched up with Gibson votes, Knight said, such as a zoning change granted to developer Anthony Marnell about a month before entities linked to Marnell funneled $150,000 to Gibson's campaign fund.
A month after the contributions, Gibson appointed Marnell to the Henderson Convention Center Board of Directors, which promotes tourism in Henderson.
The Gibson campaign said all of Titus' allegations were based on a faulty premise because Gibson alone does not have the power to approve or deny developers' requests.
"She's saying the planning commission and the entire City Council are on the take," Gibson spokesman Greg Bortolin said. "This is an example of her not understanding the process. It's just a flat-out lie."
