Critics still say candidate unqualified

Brooks, who won the Democratic primary for Assembly District 19 by just 36 votes, has been the subject of about 50 complaints to the Nevada secretary of state from people who accuse him of making false statements in his filing paperwork. At issue are discrepancies between sworn statements Brooks made to election officials about his residency and property and voting records that contradict the statements.

Brooks added to the furor last week when a prepared response to a residency question conflicted with property records.

District resident Ertis North, one of the people who filed a complaint against Brooks, said he challenged Brooks because he’s “sick and tired of frauds and cheats” in politics.

Meghan Smith, who lost the primary to Brooks , says the secretary of state “missed the point” in dismissing the complaints. Smith plans to file a lawsuit seeking to block Brooks’ candidacy.

“I am disappointed that the secretary of state did not see this as a serious issue to be addressed,” she said.

Brooks is running to replace departing Assemblyman Jerry Claborn, D-Las Vegas. If he remains on the ballot, he has a good chance of defeating Republican Jerry Wang and Independent American candidate James S. Rhodes, as active, registered Democrats in the district outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin.

Detractors, however, want Brooks off the ballot.

Complaints against him cite a sworn, declaration of residency statement in which Brooks says he lived at 6007 Turtle River Ave. from November 2004, to the present day.

But voter records from the Clark County Elections Department show that in 2008, Brooks registered to vote from 2090 Ponticello Drive in Henderson.

North and the other complainants argued to local and state election officials that, at a minimum, Brooks provided false information in a sworn statement. That, they say, should disqualify him from the ballot.

But the argument hasn’t gained steam with officials.

In March, Clark County District Attorney David Roger dismissed the complaint — without addressing the truthfulness of Brooks’ statements.

“To the extent that this document raises the inference that the candidate has lived at the addressed (sic) listed without interruption, this office finds that such a statement, if erroneous, is not material with respect to his candidacy,” Roger wrote.

Last week Matthew Griffin, deputy secretary for elections under Secretary of State Ross Miller, also dismissed the complaint.

Griffin’s dismissal said the allegations came after deadlines to challenge candidates under Nevada law, which he said means “there is insufficient cause for the secretary of state to initiate a proceeding” against Brooks. Griffin told the complainants if they want to continue to challenge Brooks’ candidacy, they would need to do so through the courts.

When asked to respond to the complaints, Brooks read a prepared statement to a reporter that included more information that is contradicted by property records.

“I have owned the residence in question since 2004, and should my residency be challenged before an official body, I am confident that I will be vindicated accordingly,” Brooks said in the statement.

But property records with the Clark County assessor’s office don’t show Brooks’ name until Sept. 13, 2006, when his wife, Ada Brooks, signed a quit claim deed that added him as an owner.

Brooks did not respond to calls seeking comment on the discrepancy.