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Ethics complaints filed against Democratic senators by Nevada Republican Party

Riley Snyder
Riley Snyder
IndyBlogLegislature
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The Nevada Republican Party has submitted two complaints to the state Commission on Ethics regarding conduct from two Democratic state senators that it says runs afoul of state law on ethics.

The complaints were filed Thursday by the party against Democratic Sens. Pat Spearman and Melanie Schieble through the Nevada Commission on Ethics, the state body charged with overseeing and enforcing state ethics law.  

The complaint filed against Scheible, a freshman lawmaker and Clark County Deputy District Attorney first elected in 2018, cites a March article from The Nevada Independent where Schieble “recalled drowning under a mountain of work and campaign commitments one day and sending an "SOS" text to (Senate Majority Leader Nicole) Cannizzaro, who promptly dropped by her office, picked up a case file and handled a hearing, no questions asked.” The complaint asks for more details as to how Schieble managed her work duties as a district attorney and her campaign duties, suggesting that she may have “asked a coworker to work extra time to complete an assigned case so she could campaign while on payroll.”

The other complaint filed against Spearman, first elected to the state Senate in 2012, cites several “odd” disbursements from her campaign account to herself in 2013, including rounded amounts for travel and office supplies. It also raised concerns with a $7,200 gift in 2012 for repairing of floors with the listed donor of a church that Spearman founded, but shut its doors in 2013.

Spearman’s campaign finance practices were also questioned by the Reno Gazette-Journal, which found the Democratic lawmaker had paid more than $100,000 in campaign funds to a consulting firm with close ties to her sister.

“We expect the Nevada Commission on Ethics to conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation on Senators Spearman and Scheible,” Nevada Republican Party Executive Director William Sexauer said. “If they are found to have abused the public’s trust, as so many of their fellow Democrat elected officials have recently, then they should be held equally accountable.”

Schieble Complaint by Riley Snyder on Scribd


Spearman Complaint by Riley Snyder on Scribd


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