LETTER: Library director gets slap on the wrist
Your recent article, “Here’s what will happen to library executive who took Super Bowl tickets” was interesting, and it should serve as a warning to future top-level library administrators who accept expensive gifts for personal use. Don’t!
The employee who accepted such gifts — Kelvin Watson, executive director of the district — must undergo ethics training. This is, of course, a slap on the wrist, and he could have faced more serious charges. But he apparently asked the library’s legal counsel if he could accept such a gift, so he falls under a “safe harbor prevision,” according to Ross Armstrong, executive director of the Nevada Ethics Commission.
Even though he was not required to pay back the cash value of the ticket, did Mr. Watson even offer to do this? Did he offer a public apology to the library staff for his action?
I understand from the Review-Journal article that the library employee “did not return a request for comment.” Why am I not surprised? Now we know who we’re dealing with.
