Attorney General George Chanos, appointed just four months ago to fill the position, announced Monday he will not run for the office in November.
Chanos, a Republican who has been through bruising political battles in his short time in office, said he was disgusted with the political process and wanted to spend more time with his family.
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"Politics is not as collegial or as cooperative as I had hoped," Chanos said in an interview. "If I wanted to put up with it, I could. But I don't have to put up with it, and I don't choose to."
In particular, Chanos lashed out at Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, a Democrat who faced off with Chanos on the issue of whether a bill passed in the Legislature to allow Nevadans to buy prescription drugs from Canada could pass legal muster. Chanos said the bill as written couldn't be implemented, but Buckley succeeded in convincing the state Pharmacy Board that implementation was possible.
Chanos said Buckley had subjected him to misleading, partisan attacks, politicizing an issue that should have been decided solely on its legal merits.
"I was painted by politicians on the other side of the aisle, particularly Barbara Buckley, as someone who is unsympathetic to elderly people," Chanos said. "The dishonesty associated with that type of politics is something I find very distasteful."
The conflict between Chanos and Buckley became intensely personal, with each lawyer publicly questioning the other's character and credentials. On Monday, Buckley said the fact that Chanos couldn't resist taking additional potshots at her showed a "lack of class."
"I think George Chanos doesn't get it," Buckley said. "He seemed personally affronted that people would dare to disagree with him. Welcome to democracy, Mr. Chanos."
Buckley pointed out that opposition to Chanos on the drug bill came from both political parties.
"Fifty-six legislators signed affidavits in support of the (importation) program, half Democrats, half Republicans," she said. "It wasn't a partisan attack. It was an uprising of legislators on both sides saying 'let's put seniors ahead of the prescription drug industry.' "
Chanos' pullout came as a surprise Monday.
As a condition of his appointment in November, he had promised he would run for the office, giving Republicans the advantage of incumbency. The position became open after Brian Sandoval was appointed to a federal judgeship.
Gov. Kenny Guinn said in a statement that he was "disappointed" Chanos wouldn't run. But as a family man himself, the governor said, "I understand his decision." Guinn wouldn't comment beyond his written statement.
Chanos will attempt to hand-pick a successor for the Republican nomination. He said he will meet with Republicans he considers qualified for the post in the coming days, pick the one who is willing to run that he likes best, and direct his support, financial and otherwise, to that candidate.
He said he would personally return the $1.2 million he had raised to his individual donors, but would encourage them to re-donate the money to his favored candidate.
Chanos mentioned four potential picks: State Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City; Chief Deputy Attorney General Gerald Gardner, who heads Chanos' Las Vegas office; Las Vegas attorney Stan Parry; and University Regent Bret Whipple.
Chanos expressed particular favor for Gardner, whom he called "my right arm in the office."
"He's probably the most qualified person I know of in the state to serve as attorney general," Chanos said of Gardner.
Gardner said he would consider running for the post. "The office does need continuity and someone with experience," said Gardner, who has been with the office for four years and previously served eight years with the district attorney's office.
Amodei, Parry and Whipple did not return calls seeking comment.
Gardner praised Chanos' work as attorney general and said he would have ruled the same way on the controversial Canadian drug bill.
The prescription drug issue wasn't the only topic for which Chanos took public flak. He was criticized for a land deal in which he turned a multimillion-dollar profit on a Las Vegas property after he succeeded in gaining a zoning change from the Las Vegas City Council. The deal was agreed upon before Chanos' appointment, when he was an attorney in private practice, but it passed the council when he was a public official.
Chanos also declared that, if elected, he would not move to Carson City, drawing accusations that he wasn't committed to the job.
Catherine Cortez Masto, a former assistant Clark County manager who is running as a Democrat for attorney general, said Monday that she has been trying to run a campaign based on her own merits, so Chanos' departure won't affect her.
"I know what I want," Cortez Masto said. "I want to be attorney general. I'm committed to it, and I'm ready to represent the citizens of this state."
