Candidate pulls out, backs incumbent

Scott Anderson announced his withdrawal from the Las Vegas City Council Ward 6 race on Wednesday, saying he "will not compromise my integrity or my supporters' integrity by involving my campaign in 'dirty politics.' "

"I discovered that an ethics complaint is to be filed against the incumbent as a political weapon, and not a valid complaint," Anderson said in a statement. "I do not agree that such a complaint should be used as part of a campaign strategy."

Any complaint should have been filed before election season, he said, adding that he will be supporting the incumbent, Steve Ross.

Ross and attorney Jennifer Taylor are in the race. The candidate who gets a majority of primary votes on April 7 wins the seat.

Anderson, a real estate agent, did not detail the ethics complaint in his statement. Neither did campaign manager Marc Newman.

"We'd really rather not comment on it. We just really didn't approve. That's all."

Taylor said her campaign has had discussions about potential conflicts between Ross' job as a councilman and his position as secretary-treasurer of the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, but has not talked about an ethics complaint.

If there is one, "it is not going to come from me, and it is not going to come from my campaign," Taylor said. "I do not think it would be appropriate."

Gary Gray, Ross' campaign manager, said the Nevada Ethics Commission throws out many complaints each year that are politically motivated.

"I appreciate Mr. Anderson's view that an ethics complaint is a serious matter and it shouldn't be used as a political tool," Gray said. "This subverts the entire process. If there were a true and legitimate complaint, it should've been filed long ago."

Ross approached the Ethics Commission in 2007 to see whether holding the union position and a council seat violated state ethics law. The commission ruled that it did not but warned Ross that he faced "myriad" potential conflicts in taking both roles.

When he took the union job, he promised not to favor a union project that wasn't good for the community and said he wouldn't use his council position to push developers to use organized labor.

When the commission released its ruling last year, City Attorney Brad Jerbic said Ross has sought advice when potential conflicts arose.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.