Republican: Allegation by colleague false

CARSON CITY -- A prominent Nevada Republican alleged to have engaged in inappropriate conduct with the daughter of a GOP colleague denied the accusation Monday and vowed not to speak further on the subject.

"I am not guilty of this, and I don't know how to restore my reputation except to stop talking about it," former U.S. public printer Bruce James said of the 5-year-old allegation. "There is nothing new to add. I just don't want to make any more comments. I don't want to perpetuate it.

"I'm stricken by this, for my wife more than me," he said.

James, a Lake Tahoe resident tapped by Gov. Jim Gibbons to lead a newly created panel that will look for savings in state government, said he will focus on the work of the Nevada Saving and Government Efficiency Commission.

"I'm going about my business," James said.

The allegation was made by former GOP state Chairman John Mason in an e-mail that was forwarded to Gibbons and expressed concern about the choice of James to lead the efficiency panel.

Asked whether he had talked to Mason since the e-mail was sent, James said he hadn't.

"I don't know what to do with him," James said. "None of us do."

Mason, also a Lake Tahoe resident, has not commented on the e-mail, which alleged that James tried to "molest" one of his daughters after she dined with James in Washington, D.C., in December 2002.

Mason did not provide any proof in his e-mail, and he has not responded to requests for comment.

James told Gibbons the allegation by Mason is untrue, and Gibbons' press secretary, Ben Kieckhefer, said Saturday there is no reason to remove James from the unpaid, volunteer job of leading the commission. Kieckhefer repeated that on Monday and said that Gibbons supports James, barring some evidence that would make him reconsider.

James told Gibbons he does not want to step down because he did nothing wrong, Kieckhefer said.

"It's not our fight," he said. "It's between John Mason and Bruce James."

Kieckhefer said he became aware of Mason's concerns Thursday. No criminal investigation ever took place, and no charges were filed, he said.

Gibbons, a member of Congress at the time the incident is alleged to have occurred, was made aware then of the concern, but the allegation was not an issue when James was tapped for the SAGE panel, Kieckhefer said.

The Mason e-mail said U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., then-Gov. Kenny Guinn and then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales were made aware of the allegations too. Mason said he chose, at the counsel's request, not to pursue the matter.

James was nominated by President Bush for public printer and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2002. He started the job in January 2003 and retired in January 2007.

A history of bad feelings exists between James and Mason. James was given the task by Guinn of telling Mason that he was being replaced as head of Nevada's Republican Party in 2000, a state official said.

Mason served in the job from 1995 to 2000.

Mason once claimed to have played guitar for the 1960s rock group the Surfaris, but he is not listed as one of the group's members. The issue surfaced when Mason, an attorney, announced a bid for the state Supreme Court in 1994.

Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau writer Sean Whaley at 775-687-3900 or swhaley@reviewjournal.com