Gibbons denies affair with woman

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons on Tuesday denied he has been having an affair with the wife of a Reno doctor, countering claims published last week in an Elko newspaper that the two are "involved."

In a letter to the Elko Daily Free Press, Gibbons stated he has been a "friend" of the woman for more than 15 years but "there is nothing inappropriate about that friendship."

"Saying I am 'involved' with her certainly leads readers to believe something that is not true," wrote Gibbons, who has filed for divorce from his wife, Dawn.

The governor has requested that the divorce proceedings be kept from public view. Dawn Gibbons' attorney is working to unseal the case.

In a May 21 editorial supporting Dawn Gibbons' efforts to unseal the case, the Free Press charged that the governor was "involved" with the woman but did not cite sources for its allegation.

"She shall go unnamed to save her husband public humiliation," the editorial stated.

Political operatives from both parties have alleged repeatedly since his 2006 gubernatorial campaign that Gibbons has a close personal relationship with the wife of a Reno doctor.

A source told the Review-Journal recently that the governor accompanied the woman to school events for her children.

Gibbons has repeatedly denied an extramarital relationship.

In response to a question from a member of the Capitol press corps in March, the governor laughed and denied that he had "a girlfriend." His response was printed in the Review-Journal.

The governor declined Tuesday to comment further on his response to the Elko editorial.

The Review-Journal has made repeated attempts in recent weeks, including on Tuesday, to contact the woman alleged to be Gibbons' mistress. A call to her husband on Tuesday went unanswered.

One source close to the governor said the woman and Gibbons have been friends since high school.

Gibbons, however, is 63 and the woman is in her late 40s.

In his May 2 divorce filing, the governor cited "incompatibility in marriage" as the reason he was seeking to part ways with wife of nearly 22 years.

But Dawn Gibbons claimed she did not know why the governor wanted a divorce. Her lawyer, Cal Dunlap, filed legal documents last week in which he asked Gov. Gibbons to give more specific details on the reasons for the divorce.

A judge approved the sealing of most records in the case at the request of lawyer Gary Silverman. State laws allow one party in a divorce to close records and request the divorce be conducted behind closed doors.

Dunlap is completing legal briefs to seek to open the sealed records and require the Gibbonses' divorce trial to be conducted in public.

Dunlap declined Tuesday to comment on Gibbons' response to the Elko editorial.

In his letter to the Elko newspaper, Gibbons blasted the newspaper, saying the editorial was "filled with innuendo and quite frankly, tabloid-style gossip. It was absolutely out of bounds of good taste and common decency."

"I strongly believe that even public officials deserve a certain degree of privacy," Gibbons stated. "Therefore, I do not intend to comment regularly on each and every rumor that circulates concerning me or my wife. But when such rumors are given as fact in a paper I respect as much as this one, I felt absolutely that some response from me would be needed to set the record straight."

The Elko editorial also argued that Dawn Gibbons should be allowed to remain in the governor's mansion.

Gov. Gibbons -- who has been spending nights at the couple's longtime home in southwest Reno while Dawn Gibbons lives in the governor's mansion -- is seeking a court ruling to have her evicted so that he can move back to the mansion.

The Elko newspaper accused the Nevada media of failing to "get into the nitty-gritty" of what has gone on between the governor and first lady.

Gibbons is the first governor in state history to seek a divorce while serving as the state's chief executive. Govs. Paul Laxalt and Robert List divorced after they left office.

Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau chief Ed Vogel at vogel@reviewjournal.com or 775- 687-3901.