EDITORIAL: Too many Hafens on Henderson payroll

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen oversees a city that employs six of his relatives in full-time jobs, with salaries ranging from $63,000 to more than $100,000. But he had nothing to do with their hiring.

Uh huh.

As reported Monday by the Review-Journal’s Eric Hartley, all six started work after the now second-term mayor became a City Council member in 1987. (1987? Term limits came far too late in this state.) Mayor Hafen told Mr. Hartley in an email that there was nothing wrong with the hiring of his relatives, because Henderson’s city charter prohibits the mayor and council members from having any involvement in hiring or firing decisions. Asked whether he thought his position played any role in their hires, even indirectly, Mayor Hafen wrote, “No. I’m not involved in any of that.”

Sorry, but the mayor’s claims that he had nothing to do with the hiring process aren’t credible, because it’s assumed that the people doing the hiring knew these were his family members. It also can be assumed that city management officials — who, by the way, are appointed by Mayor Hafen and the council — also knew. Most importantly, however, the mayor has not done enough to block the hiring of family members, including a son, a brother-in-law and two nephews.

Mayor Hafen has never been seen rushing forward to publicly say, “This creates a horrible perception of how our city government works.” And why would he in this case, when the city of Henderson has consistently shown it’s more than willing to snub its nose at the public on any number of fronts? From threatening city employees with termination if they talked to journalists, to supporting legislation that discourages public records requests, to proposing a property tax increase while granting its well-paid — and certainly well-connected — workforce a new round of raises, the city and its mayor seem oblivious to the taxpayers they serve.

The Hafen family pipeline is just one more indictment of the culture of Henderson government — which somehow just got the seal of approval from voters. The April ballot included three City Council races, and all three incumbents won, including Gerri Schroder, who can certainly relate to the mayor. Councilwoman Schroder’s husband, Glenn, was hired for an unposted, part-time job as a city “housing specialist” that later was converted to a full-time position with benefits. He later quit.

Nevada has a law that prohibits such nepotism. But it only applies to public officials with “hiring authority.” It does nothing to prevent the kind of favoritism seen here.

Mayor Hafen’s disconnect was made obvious by one comment in his email to Mr. Hartley: “I’d hope no one would ever be hired based on a name, nor would I hope anyone would ever be disqualified because of a name either.”

Wrong answer. There are times when a name indeed should be disqualifying. An elected official with more integrity will put family and friends on notice by saying, “I’m not taking this job to take care of you. I’m taking this job to represent the interests of the taxpaying public.”

That’s what Mayor Hafen should have said. Not doing so makes him just as complicit in the hiring of half a dozen relatives as the people who actually hired them. It’s disappointing, but it’s not a surprise. After all, it’s in Henderson. Of course.