Woodbury, others still can seek re-election

CARSON CITY -- Long-serving Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and three other Southern Nevada candidates will be able to run for office this election season, according to District Attorney David Roger.

In a letter to Deputy Secretary of State Matt Griffin, Roger said any ambiguities in the term limits measure approved by voters in 1996 "should be resolved in favor of candidacy where possible."

Roger said his office "finds that probable cause does not exist to remove the challenged candidates from the ballot."

The decision means Woodbury, university Regent Thalia Dondero and Clark County School Board members Ruth Johnson and Mary Beth Scow will be able to run in the November election, at least for now.

Because of term limits, it will be the last time the candidates will be able to seek re-election.

A candidate facing any of the challenged candidates could still file an independent challenge by a June 2 deadline. But the challenge would again go to Roger. A post-election challenge to any of the winning incumbents is also a possibility, if the issue ultimately goes to the Nevada Supreme Court from another county, which is expected, and Secretary of State Ross Miller's position is upheld.

A Pershing County term limits case is set to be heard June 20.

Woodbury said he was pleased with the decision and that he will now move forward with his campaign.

"It is very well-reasoned and very thorough, and I think it is persuasive," he said.

"That is wonderful music to my ears," said Dondero, who is running unopposed for one last term as a regent of the Nevada System of Higher Education. "Originally we had been told it was all right to run. I thought the decision was wonderful, and I applaud our district attorney. You don't take these things lightly."

If Dondero had been required to withdraw, there would have been no other candidates on the ballot for the seat.

The filing deadline for candidates ended May 16.

"It's a big relief," said Clark County School Board member and candidate Mary Beth Scow. "We were kind of feeling in limbo for a period of time."

Numerous opinions all said the 12-year limit should start in 1998, she said.

School board member and candidate Ruth Johnson said: "It was not a surprise. It was in line with what the district attorney's office had been saying all along."

Roger's decision not to challenge the candidacies of the four incumbents follows a similar decision Friday by Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick not to challenge the candidacy of Regent Howard Rosenberg.

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

Miller has contended 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 begin affecting regular elections until 1998.

Other candidate challenges have been initiated by Miller and are proceeding in other Nevada counties.

Miller said he believes his legal interpretation is correct, and that ultimately 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.

The Pershing County challenge involves School Board member Todd Plimpton.

Asked whether a favorable decision in a Pershing County case could be applied to candidates in other counties, such as Woodbury, Miller said it was a legal question the attorney general's office would have to answer.

The definitive answer may ultimately come from the Nevada Supreme Court.

In his letter, Roger said the term limits amendment to the constitution has been interpreted by a former attorney general as not applying to state lawmakers until 1998. He said local elected officials should be treated no differently.

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

Woodbury said if the issue does end up before the Nevada Supreme Court, he will try to ensure the justices have Roger's opinion, which is similar to the one issued by Gammick on Friday.

Until then, Woodbury said he will move forward with his campaign.

Roger said he does not believe a case from another county would affect Woodbury or other Clark County candidates challenged by Miller. But the attorney general's office could use a ruling in another case as cause to pursue a post-election challenge, he said.

"We would not be a party to that," Roger said.

Roger said he does not believe his opinion creates any conflict of interest, either because of the representation his office provides to the Clark County School Board or because Johnson's husband works as a deputy in the office's civil division.

The office represents the County Commission as well as the school board, and that is not a conflict, he said. The office also kept Johnson's spouse apart from any discussions on the term limits opinion, which is viewed by the courts as a satisfactory way of eliminating any potential conflict, Roger said.

Woodbury faces numerous opponents in his bid for one last term in District A. He has been a member of the commission since 1981.

Two Republicans, Brian Scroggins and Duane Christy, are running. So are Democrats Jeffrey White and Steve Sisolak, a regent.

Sisolak, who said he filed initially out of a concern Woodbury would not be able to run, said he is evaluating whether to stay in the race. The last day to withdraw is today.

"I will evaluate what it means," Sisolak said of Roger's opinion. "But I've had a lot of phone calls from people saying 12 years should mean 12 years."