Contractor gave $36,000 to Collins’ defense fund

Las Vegas Paving gave $36,000 to a legal defense fund for Commissioner Tom Collins three months after the County Commission approved a settlement to award the corporation a $117 million Las Vegas Beltway project that was snarled in litigation.

Collins said the money was used to pay his lawyer fees when he challenged a court ruling that barred him and Commissioner Steve Sisolak from voting on the contract to widen the northern Beltway between Decatur Boulevard and Tenaya Way. Collins voted in June to approve the settlement among Las Vegas Paving, the county and Fisher Sand & Gravel. The donations to the legal fund were made in September.

"They didn't put a penny in until months after the case was settled," Collins said. "They recognized I still had debt. They know I'm honest. I had the right to challenge to get to vote on the item."

There are four donations of $9,000 each that come from Las Vegas Paving and three limited liability companies that appear to be connected to the paving corporation through their addresses.

According to online company profiles, all are managed by Las Vegas Paving attorney Jim Barker, who did not return calls seeking comment about the contributions to Collins' legal defense.

State law limits contributions from individuals for a legal defense fund for candidates and elected officials to $10,000.

Collins established the fund two years ago with $10,000 from his own campaign. About $5,000 now remains in the fund after Collins paid his lawyer. He reported the contributions to the secretary of state's office Jan. 12. Collins said his supporters in the construction building trades approached Las Vegas Paving to solicit donations. He said he did not instruct them to ask for the money and did not know when they requested the funds.

Commissioners chose Las Vegas Paving's higher bid over Fisher Sand & Gravel, saying that at least two of Fisher's subcontractors weren't properly licensed, among other issues. Fisher's attorney argued that Sisolak and Collins had a strong union bias and searched for reasons to reject Fisher because it's a nonunion contractor.

That generated discussions about whether a federal judge overreached his authority. In 2009, U.S. District Judge Robert Jones suggested that Collins and Sisolak appeared biased toward unions and acted corruptly in choosing Las Vegas Paving. Jones told commissioners to reconsider the bids. Instead, commissioners voted to scrap the project and start bidding on a similar project. That angered Jones, who ordered the county to award Fisher the contract. The county appealed Jones' order.

The legal back-and-forth was resolved when the commission voted to approve the settlement between Las Vegas Paving and Fisher.

Martin Dean Dupalo, president of the Nevada Center for Public Ethics, said the contributions could create a public perception that Collins accepts money for political favors.

"This is an entity that commonly does business with Clark County, and it would behoove him to not accept any contributions from them," Dupalo said. "You would think he would stay away from accepting a gift."

But Collins said that, in his capacity as an elected official, it wouldn't matter who gave him money or when because it will always be criticized. He noted he legally reported the contributions rather than telling the paving company to directly pay his lawyer -- an action some politicians have taken, but he won't.

"A company will come in, some representative, and give an elected official a check," Collins said. "Lo and behold, their client comes in with an agenda item that same week. Or, they'll wait until after you vote for them to give you a check. These are the people who give to campaigns."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.