Ethics commission fines state official for accepting Golden Knights tickets, perks
The Nevada ethics commission determined Wednesday that the head of the state’s energy office committed a willful violation of ethics statutes by accepting free Golden Knights tickets and other perks while negotiating a potential sponsorship deal with the NHL franchise.
The Nevada Commission on Ethics approved a stipulated agreement that resolves an ethics complaint filed against Dwayne McClinton, director of the Governor’s Office of Energy. The agreement includes a $1,000 penalty, an admonishment and a requirement for him and office staff to receive ethics training.
A previous stipulated agreement was rejected by the commission in April because commissioners thought the penalty was too low.
Emails obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal through a public records request to the commission show that McClinton accepted two tickets to a Golden Knights game in March 2024 and later that month attended a VIP watch party and brunch. He later inquired if there might be another watch party he could attend with his staff. During this time, negotiations were ongoing for a sponsorship deal of potentially $380,000 per year in state funds going to the Knights. The deal ultimately fell through.
Any questions about the appropriateness of this potential spending are beyond the scope of the ethics commission, said Ross Armstrong, the commission’s executive director.
“When director McClinton and the Knights were entering into negotiations for possible sponsorship, the director truly believed that he was going to the game in order to see what the Knights could bring into a potential sponsorship,” said Nicole Ting with the state attorney general’s office, who represented McClinton before the commission. “He now understands what he did was wrong and will not do so in the future.”
McClinton did not respond to a request for comment.
The Nevada ethics law prohibits a public officer from seeking or accepting any gift, service or favor that would “tend improperly to influence a reasonable person” in the public officer’s position to depart from the impartial discharge of their duties.
This is McClinton’s first violation. If the commission finds a public officer has committed a second willful violation, it can file to have the officer removed from office, Armstrong told commissioners.
The energy office is a 12-person state office with a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, according to the office’s website. Gov. Joe Lombardo appointed McClinton to lead the office in February 2023.
Elizabeth Ray, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, wrote in an email, “We’re unable to comment on personnel issues at this time.”
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.
