GOP group discloses call to Sandoval

A short paragraph buried deep in an article published last weekend by Politico caught the attention of sharp-eyed critics of Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval.

It was an article about the Republican Party’s efforts to field a more diverse slate of candidates and mentioned that “leaders of the Republican Governors Association, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and executive director Nick Ayers, met and called” Sandoval in an effort to recruit him to challenge incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The line seemed to contradict Sandoval’s assertion when he entered the race in September that “nobody recruited me” to leave his lifetime appointment as a federal judge to challenge Gibbons.

It also piqued the interest of Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, who has criticized Sandoval for engaging in political activity while still a judge, something Sandoval is adamant he didn’t do.

“These kind of meetings suggest he was engaged in a lot of political activity,” Sloan said.

Sandoval announced his plan to resign from the bench in 30 days on Aug. 15. On Sept. 16 he announced his intention to run for governor.

He also sought guidance from the Committee on Codes of Conduct in the Ninth Circuit for how he could seek input on a potential move into politics without running afoul of judicial canons of ethics.

In an Aug. 5 letter, Judge M. Margaret McKeown issued some guidance, which Sandoval says he closely followed.

In short, the four-page letter said Sandoval could “consult privately with a limited group of individuals” but said he shouldn’t engage in overt political activity such as speeches, fundraising or polling.

Republican Governors Association spokesman Tim Murtaugh didn’t dispute the Politico report.

But Pete Ernaut, a close friend and adviser to Sandoval, said Sandoval didn’t have any conversations with the Republican Governors Association until after he left the bench.

Ernaut said he had discussions with the governors group, which had done polls to test Sandoval as a candidate. He added that at the time there was plenty of speculation Sandoval was considering leaving the bench and multiple polls included his name, including independent polls by media organizations.

Sandoval was mentioned as a potential candidate in multiple media accounts around the time he announced he would resign as a judge Aug. 15 and even earlier in some more obscure online forums earlier in the summer.

Ernaut said Sandoval made the decision with his wife, Kathleen, in late July or early August and didn’t tell anyone outside a very small circle.

Sloan, whose group raised questions about whether Sandoval violated the letter or spirit of the ethical guidance, says the Politico report was evidence he did.

Other legal experts weren’t so sure.

“It looks hazy to me. It is certainly not a blatant violation,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, who read the letter offering Sandoval ethical guidance.

Bill Dressel, president of the National Judicial College in Reno, also read the letter and said even if Sandoval had met with people from the Republican Governors Association it wouldn’t have violated the letter or the spirit of the guidance.

“You can meet with people. It could all be in consideration of trying to make a decision,” Dressel said. “It would not be an ethical violation to have done it.”

The entire debate may be moot, however. Since Sandoval is no longer on the federal bench, he isn’t bound by judicial ethical canons and no one is claiming he ran afoul of any political or electoral laws.

Ernaut said there is no evidence Sandoval broke rules or violated ethics of any kind.

“He followed the guidance of the Ninth Circuit to the letter,” Ernaut said.

close call for mining

Activists from the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, or PLAN, didn’t gather enough signatures to change the state constitution in order to increase taxes on Nevada mines, but some say they came as close as anyone in state history who sought to take on Nevada’s most entrenched industry.

Historian and College of Southern Nevada professor Michael Green likened the attempt to eliminate the “net proceeds of minerals” tax to a tax on gross proceeds to the “bullion tax fight” of more than a century ago.

“I don’t know of anyone who has come closer,” said Green of the attempted initiative.

In 1877, Gov. L.R. Bradley vetoed a bill that would have reduced mining taxes by 30 percent. Bradley, who had ranching, not mining, interests in mind was buoyed by a rising tide of criticism from people who didn’t like mining’s favored status.

Ultimately, the move may have cost Bradley his bid for a third term. John Kinkead, a candidate backed by mining companies, won the 1878 election and took office in 1879.

In 1989, then Gov. Bob Miller dedicated 10 paragraphs of his State of the State speech during the 65th session of the Legislature to a desire to reduce the amount of deductions mining companies take in order to reduce their tax burden.

“Because of the mining industry’s unwillingness to pay its fair share, we may not have enough money to achieve some of the goals we have set for better preparing Nevada’s children for the future,” Miller said, before taking a jab at the industry’s public relations efforts. “Remember those facts the next time you see a television commercial or newspaper ad that says, ‘Mining, it works for Nevada.’ It is not working hard enough.”

Nothing happened.

Unlike Bradley or Miller, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada went straight to the people to plead their case that the mining industry doesn’t deserve favored status, and managed to get more than 60,000 signatures.

Political observers said and polling indicated had PLAN been successful getting the issue to a ballot it would have had a good chance to pass.

Historian Guy Rocha said PLAN did manage to renew a debate that will likely keep mining in the spotlight as the state faces what could be a $3 billion revenue shortfall in 2011.

“They certainly resurrected an age-old issue,” Rocha said. “I would argue most Nevadans don’t know much about this at all.”

republicans for reid irks faithful

There’s division in the party ranks.

A group of Republicans backing Sen. Harry Reid has caused consternation in the Republican Party, with more conservative party members condemning support for Reid, a Democrat, over Sharron Angle, his Republican challenger.

The division is especially apparent in the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval. Greg Ferraro, a friend and adviser to Sandoval, is among those listed as a supporter on Reid’s campaign website.

Reno Mayor Bob Cashell is another Republican for Reid who attended Sandoval’s primary election victory party over incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons, as did Angle critic state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and former Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican who drew animosity from conservatives for supporting a 2003 tax increase.

Sandoval has said he supports Angle and his campaign website links to her site.

While the Republican infighting has been public, Democrats are showing signs of division once inside the voting booth.

Election returns from the Democratic primary for governor show 30 percent of voters picked “none of the above” or unknown Frederick Conquest over primary victor Rory Reid, who spent nearly $2 million on his campaign through the primary.

Statewide, 17,454 Democrats, about 15 percent, chose “none of the above” in the gubernatorial race compared to 4,400 Republicans, or 2.5 percent, who did the same.

politician’s best friend

There’s an adage that says people in politics who want a friend should get a dog.

Nevada Republican Party Chairman Mark Amodei did just that, and now he is finding out how tough it can be when that friend is in trouble.

Amodei’s 10-year-old West Highland terrier, Tali, recently had a brain tumor removed; but doctors are worried some cancer may still be present. That has the typically gregarious Amodei beside himself as of late.

On Saturday, he took the dog to a veterinary clinic in Sacramento that will evaluate whether Tali is eligible for radiation treatment that could kill whatever cancer remains.

“I wasn’t bawling, but I was as close as I could,” Amodei said of his reaction to Tali’s ordeal.

Amodei, a former state senator, said before the dog’s diagnosis he hadn’t thought of himself as a person who would grow so attached to a pet.

The shift was inspired in large part by Tali’s recovery from the surgery.

Amodei, who has a sign at his home to remind him to “be the person your dog thinks you are,” said he was moved seeing the scarred pup eagerly return to romping around in the yard.

“I’m fighting for my dog. I’m not closing the book on this guy.”

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.