Judge’s campaign ad claimed endorsements that didn’t exist

A campaign ad for District Judge Doug Smith, who was re-elected Nov. 4, indicated he was endorsed by five state agencies.

But those agencies did not endorse him and, in fact, do not make political endorsements.

“If there’s somebody utilizing our logo in an endorsement, that’s improper,” said James Wright, director of the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

The department’s logo was one of dozens that were depicted in the ad, which ran in the Las Vegas Review-Journal before the general election. They appeared below the words “ENDORSED BY.”

Other state agencies with logos in the ad were the Department of Wildlife, the Gaming Control Board, the Department of Corrections and the Taxicab Authority.

According to the ad, it was paid for by the Committee to Re-elect Judge Doug Smith.

When asked about the endorsement discrepancies on Thursday, Smith said, “I have no idea. I didn’t write the ad.”

He then referred a reporter to his campaign manager, Tom Letizia. The judge said Letizia was responsible for the ad.

“I’ve never seen the ad, printed or prior,” Smith said, adding that he does not read the Review-Journal.

Letizia acknowledged that he created the ad, which ran Nov. 1 through Nov. 4. He said he would need to do some research before commenting, because he could not remember all of Smith’s endorsements off the top of his head.

“You caught me off guard here,” Letizia said.

In a later email, he told the Review-Journal that Smith was endorsed by the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, a union that serves numerous police associations, including the Nevada State Law Enforcement Officers’ Association. He did not explain why Smith’s ad touted endorsements that the judge did not have.

Wright was not aware of the ad before a reporter contacted him. But Tony Wasley, director of the Department of Wildlife, said someone brought it to his attention on Election Day, when it was too late to take any action that would affect the outcome of the race.

“That is not a formal endorsement in any way, shape or form,” he said.

Wasley said he was troubled by the use of the department’s logo in the ad. If one person claims to have the department’s endorsement, he wondered aloud, what would stop someone else from making the same claim in the future? And what message would such a claim convey about the department’s position on particular issues?

One lawyer who saw the advertisement before the election said he, too, was troubled by it.

“Any litigant who has a case pending against any of those organizations or cases in which those entities are involved would have a reasonable concern about the ability of the judge to remain impartial,” he said.

He asked not to be identified because he has clients with cases pending in Clark County District Court, where Smith sits.

He noted that state agencies often are defendants in civil lawsuits, and the Department of Public Safety and Department of Corrections both deal with criminal defendants on a regular basis.

Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said he was “puzzled” by the use of his agency’s logo in the ad. The board did not endorse Smith.

“The Gaming Control Board does not make political endorsements,” Burnett said.

In an email Thursday regarding Smith’s ad, a spokeswoman for the Department of Business and Industry said the Taxicab Authority “did not and does not endorse political causes or candidates.”

“Additionally, no permission was given to use the TA’s logo for this or any other political advertisement,” wrote the spokeswoman, Teri Williams.

The Taxicab Authority is a division of the Department of Business and Industry.

Smith conceded he did not have endorsements from the Taxicab Authority or the Gaming Control Board.

According to a statement issued Thursday by the Department of Corrections, the agency “did not endorse any candidate nor did the NDOC authorize any candidate to use its badge, patch or logo.

Smith was re-elected to the Department 8 seat with 56 percent of the vote. His opponent, Deputy Attorney General Christine Guerci-Nyhus, had 44 percent.

When asked about the ad on Wednesday, Guerci-Nyhus said only, “Our community deserves a judiciary that is scrupulously honest. I am proud that my campaign was run with the highest ethical standards.”

In the Review-Journal’s 2013 Judicial Performance Evaluation, less than half of the responding lawyers favored keeping Smith on the bench.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @CarriGeer on Twitter.