Senate hopeful’s company files for bankruptcy

A company run by U.S. Senate candidate Jon Scott Ashjian has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, court records show.

Ashjian, who is running as the Tea Party candidate for the seat held by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed electronically on Monday for his firm Ashjian Development, LLC, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Nevada.

The filing lists Ashjian as president of the company and Barry Levinson as the attorney in the case.

According to the filing, Ashjian Development has assets worth $50,000 or less and liabilities valued from $500,001 to $1 million.

The only unsecured creditor listed is Nevada National Bank which claims a debt of $750,000 related to undeveloped land at 4641 N. Rainbow Blvd.

Levinson said Ashjian's plan was to build a mini-storage unit project on the property but funding from the bank dried up when the economy went south .

Ashjian Development is independent of A&A Asphalt, another Ashjian company that ran into problems earlier this year when the Nevada State Contractors Board revoked the company's license .

The license was suspended Feb. 3 after Ashjian was accused of defaulting on $37,000 in debts.

Ashjian's candidacy has been controversial from its inception, mainly because he is running under the Tea Party of Nevada label.

The Tea Party of Nevada is a political party in name only and has been denounced by supporters of the broader Tea Party movement .

The Tea Party Express, a political group that organized anti-Reid rallies, has criticized Ashjian for claiming the label, saying he will only divide the conservative vote and help Reid return for a fifth-consecutive term in the Senate.

Three Republicans -- Sue Lowden, Sharron Angle and Danny Tarkanian -- are locked in a dead heat for the nomination to challenge Reid in November.

Ashjian is unchallenged within his own party, so he won't be on primary ballots.

The American Independent Party, however, is challenging his right to be on the general election ballot. The party claimed because Ashjian was a registered Republican when he filed paperwork to establish himself as the Tea Party candidate he isn't eligible to be on the ballot.

In April, Carson City District Judge James Todd Russell ruled Ashjian "substantially complied" with filing requirements and could remain on the ballot. The American Independent Party is appealing the ruling to the state Supreme Court.