First lady eyes guest house
RENO -- First lady Dawn Gibbons has offered her husband, Gov. Jim Gibbons, a compromise over who gets to stay in the Governor's Mansion while their divorce winds through court.
Dawn Gibbons' lawyer, Cal Dunlap, has filed a motion, saying she has agreed to stay in a guest house separate from the 23-room mansion so she can continue her duties as first lady.
The filing last week was in response to the governor's motion asking a judge to award him sole occupancy of the taxpayer-supported mansion in Carson City and award his wife occupancy of the couple's Reno home, where the governor has been staying in recent months.
"He's always been welcome to stay there," Dunlap said of the governor. "He has left on his own.
"They both have business to conduct on behalf of the people of the state. She'll give him priority on everything he has to do for an official nature."
Dunlap said with staff and security on the grounds, there's no reason the couple shouldn't be able to get along.
"She's been easy to get along with despite what he's done," Dunlap told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Jim Gibbons' spokesman Ben Kieckhefer wouldn't comment on the couple's personal life.
"The issue over the Governor's Mansion is something pending before the courts," Kieckhefer said.
"He's able to do his work for the government under whatever circumstances he decides to be in. He's made his intentions clear."
State law requires the governor live in Carson City. Jim Gibbons said he has been living in Reno, which Kieckhefer described as a temporary situation. Jim Gibbons filed for divorce May 2 in Carson City, citing incompatibility. Dawn Gibbons later won a change of venue to Reno.
The case is assigned to Washoe Family Court Judge Frances Doherty. Because the case was sealed by Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox before the venue change, the specifics of the arguments filed by the first lady and governor on the residency question are not available to the public.
While Jim Gibbons wants his wife to stay in the couple's Reno home, Dawn Gibbons wants to sell that house. Dunlap said the Reno home is too big for Dawn Gibbons to maintain by herself.
