Kathy Augustine State controller now wants to run for treasurer despite ethics issues

Disgraced Controller Kathy Augustine said Wednesday she will continue to fight an attempt to exclude her from the state Republican Party by presenting new facts about her case.

"I'm asking ... that we're going to have an open and fair debate on this at the state convention," Augustine said in a conference call with conservative activists and Nevada Republican Party Chairman Paul Adams.

Adams has said he will push at the convention for a new rule that would essentially disown Augustine. She said "a lot more issues" would come out at the convention, scheduled for May.

Augustine, who was impeached and convicted on ethics charges two years ago, is running for state treasurer, a move that has divided her party between those who believe Republicans should always support their own and those -- such as Adams -- who believe the party should distance itself from the taint of scandal.

In Wednesday's conference call, Augustine was both combative and mysterious. Invited to present her own side of the ethics charges, which she has previously said were unfair, she said it wasn't the right time.

When Adams, a former Army court-martial prosecutor, said Augustine couldn't claim not to have done anything wrong because she had signed a stipulation admitting to three ethics violations, Augustine retorted, "Paul, you don't know all the facts."

Pressed to explain the facts, she said, "This isn't the appropriate venue."

Adams explained the bylaw he plans to propose, calling for the party to not "recognize nor support" a candidate who had been impeached and convicted while in public office. Since he originally proposed it last month, he said, he has added a provision that also would deny support to candidates who had been convicted of felonies.

Adams rebutted charges that he was trying to single-handedly determine which candidates are on the Republican ticket. First, he pointed out, he was only proposing the bylaw; it would be up to convention delegates to ratify it. Second, he said, the party couldn't legally prevent Augustine from running as a Republican, but it could deny her the use of its resources and its organizational support.

"We'll make the proposal at the convention and abide by the votes at the convention," Adams said.

Adams also denied that the bylaw was intended to help Augustine's primary opponent, Las Vegas businessman Mark DeStefano. He said he had been planning the proposal since Augustine rebuffed a November letter asking her not to run. At that time, Adams pointed out, Augustine hadn't decided which office to run for.

"While no one can prevent you from filing and running for public office, your presence on the ballot as a Republican will be an embarrassment to the Nevada Republican Party," Adams wrote in the letter.