Governor files divorce papers

CARSON CITY -- Ending months of speculation about the state of his marriage, Gov. Jim Gibbons filed for divorce from his wife, Dawn, late Friday afternoon.

Gibbons' Reno lawyer Gary Silverman filed a four-page complaint for divorce document in district court in Carson City.

The couple has been married since June 21, 1986, and are the parents of a 20-year-old son, Jimmy, a cadet at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York. The governor also has two grown children from a previous marriage.

The divorce has been assigned to District Judge Bill Maddox, who said he might recuse himself from the case. Maddox said he is friends with both the governor and the first lady.

In the divorce document, Silverman said the couple is "incompatible in marriage" and requests the marriage be dissolved and spousal support awarded pursuant to law. He asked that community property and debts also be handled according to law.

Nevada is a community property state where couples share assets and debts gathered during their marriages.

In a prepared statement, Silverman said the governor, his staff and his lawyers would not comment publicly on the divorce.

Dawn Gibbons, a former four-term member of the state Assembly, did not return a call for comment. Sources said she was in California for the weekend with the couple's 20-year-old son, Jimmy.

"The governor has on repeated occasions asked for privacy in this matter for his family," Silverman said.

Silverman added he will request a court ruling on the living arrangements of the governor and first lady.

In a Tuesday story, the Review-Journal reported that governors must "reside at the seat of government," which is in Carson City.

Gov. Gibbons, however, has been spending nights recently at the couple's longtime home in southwest Reno, while Dawn Gibbons lives in the governor's mansion.

Aides to the governor said Gibbons, 63, still conducts business meetings and receptions at the Governor's Mansion, but temporarily was living in their Reno home.

The 1907 law that appropriated $40,000 to build the Governor's Mansion stipulates the building must be used "as the home of the state executive," who is Gibbons.

In a Wednesday interview with Review-Journal columnist Jane Ann Morrison, Dawn Gibbons, 54, cried as she talked about their marriage.

She said her husband's clothes and boots are still at the mansion. "I'm standing in the closet looking at them right now," she said.

The lines of communication have been cut from his end, she added. "I can't get ahold of him.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know why he's divorcing me. All I'm trying to do is keep it together," she said. "I never asked him to move out."

In an interview last October, Dawn Gibbons, who made an abortive bid for Congress in 2006, spoke happily of their marriage.

She also stood by Gibbons during his campaign for governor in October 2006 when he was accused by 32-year-old Las Vegas cocktail waitress Chrissy Mazzeo of pushing her against a parking garage wall and making unwanted sexual advances. Gibbons told police he only helped Mazzeo up after she had fallen.

The incident occurred after Jim Gibbons, Mazzeo, political consultant Sig Rogich and others had been drinking at a Las Vegas restaurant. Gibbons told police he drank two glasses of wine, though a waitress said there had been heavy drinking by people at the table. No charges were brought against Gibbons in relation to the incident.

A few days later, reports broke in the Wall Street Journal that a federal grand jury was investigating whether Jim Gibbons had taken bribes and gifts from Reno businessman Warren Trepp in exchange for his assistance in gaining federal contracts.

Gibbons served 10 years in Congress before running for governor in 2006.

Although no charges as yet have been filed over the Trepp case, the Gibbonses had to take out a line of credit on their paid-off Reno home to pay for some of the legal costs.

Nonetheless, the first couple still could afford to buy 40 acres near Lamoille Canyon in Elko County in August for $575,000.

Dawn Gibbons previously said her husband, whom she described as a "shy" man, wanted to retire there. She expressed reluctance herself to moving to such a rural area.

The Gibbonses have worked closely together throughout their political careers.

Gibbons was a little known Delta Airline pilot and Assembly member from Reno when Operation Desert Storm broke out in 1991.

As a member of the Nevada Air National Guard, Gibbons was called to active duty and flew reconnaissance missions over Kuwait and Iraq.

Dawn Gibbons temporarily replaced him in the Assembly while he performed service for his country.

Then in 1994, Gibbons made a disastrous run for governor against Democratic incumbent Bob Miller.

Despite a huge loss, both Jim and Dawn Gibbons still successfully circulated petitions that now require the Legislature to approve any tax or fee increases by at least a two-thirds vote.

Gibbons in 1996 was elected as the 2nd Congressional District member in Congress. He served in the seat through 2006.

But Dawn Gibbons did not accompany him to Washington, D.C., saying she preferred to remain in Reno where their son could attend school in familiar surroundings.

Her refusal to go to Washington, however, lead to speculation that their marriage was on the rocks, which intensified after Gibbons announced he was running for governor.

Instead of remaining in Nevada and serving as a full-time first lady, Dawn Gibbons announced a run for the seat in Congress that her husband was vacating.

She lost in the primary election to now Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev.

Review-Journal reporters Sean Whaley and Molly Ball contributed to this story.