Ruling on term limits requested

CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on Tuesday asked the Nevada Supreme Court to weigh in on term limit challenges to several Nevada candidates to settle the question of whether they can run for re-election in November.

Masto filed the petition for Secretary of State Ross Miller, who has challenged more than 20 candidates, including Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury. Miller has contended they cannot seek new terms because they have served 12 years, the limit under a measure approved by voters in 1996.

"The will of the voters is clear from the results of two general elections," Masto said in the brief filed with the court. "The voters added term limits to Nevada's constitution to restrict the service of officials to 12 years. While the service of Nevada's devoted officials must be applauded, the voters' will must be faithfully enforced."

The candidates and the voters who may elect them deserve to know with certainty whether candidates will be barred by the constitution from serving additional terms of service, she said.

The formal filing with the court, if upheld, would force local voter registrars, including Larry Lomax of Clark County, to exclude the challenged candidates from the primary and general election ballots.

In an affidavit submitted with the filing, Miller said ballots must be prepared several days ahead of the Aug. 12 primary and Nov. 4 general election.

The filing is one of several challenges under way or being contemplated in several jurisdictions.

A challenge of county Commissioner John Milton III was scheduled to be heard today in Humboldt County District Court.

Another is scheduled to be heard in Pershing County on June 20. The challenge involves School Board member Todd Plimpton.

And university Regent Steve Sisolak, who filed as a Democrat against Woodbury, is expected to ask the Supreme Court on Friday to intervene to resolve the dispute.

The challenges of the local Nevada officials were started by Miller after questions were raised about the effective date of the term limits ballot measure.

Miller contends that local officials elected in 1996 have served the 12 years allowed under the voter-approved amendment and cannot run again.

Others argue that because the amendment was passed in 1996, it did not start affecting regular elections until 1998.

Miller said last week that he thinks his legal interpretation is correct and that the Nevada courts will say so. Miller thinks the term limits apply to local officials elected in November 1996 because they were not sworn in until January 1997.

"I'm confident 12 years means 12 years under the constitution and ultimately a court will decide the issue," he said.

District attorneys in Clark, Washoe and Storey counties have refused to challenge candidates identified by Miller as being term limited out of office.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said last week that Woodbury was eligible to run one more time before term limits take effect. Regent Thalia Dondero and Clark County School Board members Ruth Johnson and Mary Beth Scow were told the same by Roger. All were challenged by Miller.

Roger has said the term limits amendment to the constitution has been interpreted by a former attorney general as not applying to state lawmakers until 1998.

Roger said local elected officials should be treated no differently.

Applying two different standards to the elected officials could violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, he said.

Roger said any ambiguities in the term limits measure approved by voters in 1996 "should be resolved in favor of candidacy where possible."