Two labor unions seeking Lynette Boggs McDonald's ouster filed a complaint with state officials Wednesday accusing the Clark County commissioner of illegally using campaign funds to pay her children's nanny.

The campaign finance violation complaint filed with Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller's office accuses Boggs McDonald of illegally funding a personal expense with money that can only be used for political purposes.

"Paying for her nanny is a clear violation," said Pilar Weiss, political director of Culinary Local 226, which filed the complaint jointly with the Las Vegas Police Protective Association. "The nanny was providing full-day, everyday, Monday through Friday, child care. It was not related to campaign events."

Attached to the complaint are an affidavit from the nanny, Kelly Mcleod, stating that she never performed any political work for Boggs McDonald, as well as several of her pay stubs showing she was paid by Friends of Lynette, which is the commissioner's campaign fund.

Boggs McDonald declined to comment.

However, the commissioner reported the $1,230 she paid to Mcleod between May and July in the campaign finance report she filed in August. She categorized the payments as expenses relating to special events.

Under state law, it's illegal for candidates to spend campaign contributions for "personal use."

A 2002 Nevada attorney general's opinion defined personal use as an expense "that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as an officeholder." The opinion said a candidate may not use campaign funds to pay for "typical personal and household expenses such as food, clothing, rent, utilities and the like."

Mcleod, 22, said in an interview Wednesday that she began working for Boggs McDonald and her husband in February and was at first paid from a personal checking account.

Boggs McDonald began paying her $15.50-an-hour wage out of the campaign fund shortly after the commissioner and her husband separated, she said.

Mcleod said she mostly watched Boggs McDonald's 2-year-old daughter during the 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., five-day-a-week job. Boggs McDonald fired the nanny in mid-August, telling the nanny she was going to put her child in day care, Mcleod said.

After a campaign finance complaint is filed in Nevada, the secretary of state's office reviews it and seeks a response from the accused party.

The accused has two weeks to respond. After that, the office may conduct a probe. Violating the law carries a civil penalty of up to $5,000.

However, the secretary of state's office has not been inclined to find violations, does not conduct investigations briskly and is not required to resolve complaints before elections.

For instance, a campaign finance complaint filed against gubernatorial candidate Dina Titus in July by Jim Gibson, the opponent she beat in the August primary, has yet to be resolved.

Nevada State Democratic Chairman Tom Collins on Wednesday called on Heller to recuse himself from investigating the complaint to ensure a nonpartisan probe. Heller is running for Congress as a Republican and Boggs McDonald, a 2002 GOP congressional candidate, has been seen as one of the party's rising stars.

"Republicans see Lynette as someone who could run again for Congress or another higher office, but the concerns raised about her in recent weeks are serious," Collins said. "Secretary of State Heller should step aside to ensure a fair investigation."

Efforts to reach Heller were unsuccessful Wednesday.

The unions that filed the complaint are suing Boggs McDonald and asking a judge to toss her off the November ballot.