You’d think a county that elected a deceased pimp to the Legislature would have a better sense of humor, or at least a sense of irony. But that’s not the case in Nye County.

For proof, look no further than Thursday’s Nye County Commission meeting in Pahrump. The hearing began with a review of a proposed resolution by Commissioner Leo Blundo in support of shredding Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 restrictions on businesses in the state’s effort to battle the coronavirus pandemic that in one year has taken more than 460,000 American lives, including nearly 4,500 Nevadans.

If you thought those numbers made commission members more sensitive to the seriousness of the pandemic, you’d be wrong. And the COVID-19-related deaths in recent weeks of Deputy District Attorney Don Chairez and Pahrump Justice Court Bailiff Gerald Smith have also failed to bring them to their senses.

The commissioner’s views aren’t exactly surprising. Blundo’s wife, Melissa, leads No Mask Nevada PAC, a group of Forever Trumpers and science deniers that just can’t stop politicizing the state’s best attempts to slow the spread of a devastating virus. Memorable for leading a no-mask protest in September outside Sisolak’s private home in Las Vegas, she was among the concerned citizens who spoke at length during the hearing.

At the risk of spoiling the ending, the commission eventually approved a version of the resolution after hearing from a parade of small business owners, concerned citizens and Forever Trumpers who spoke in favor of it. In doing so, Nye joined other rural Nevada counties that have chosen to continue to march in what can kindly be described as a Trumpian direction as the COVID-19-related death toll continues to climb.

As originally drafted, the nonbinding resolution wasn’t close to passing legal muster. After respectfully acknowledging the impassioned opinions and empathizing with the group’s sentiment, Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia said, “My personal opinion, whatever it is, doesn’t matter. I provide a legal opinion. A good lawyer is not always going to tell you what you want to hear. That’s one of the many reasons people don’t like lawyers, and they’re right for the most part. But I’m not taking a position on it. We reviewed it thoroughly, and it didn’t pass legal review. That’s not my opinion. That just is.”

He’s right. But if you want to better understand the motivations and politics behind the resolution and all it stands for, the final product makes for a poor second to the original draft. It’s a veritable big brass band of Constitution-waving windbaggery, Forever Trump flag-waving and dangerous delusion on the dangers of the virus.

It’s what folks have come to expect from the commission and Nye County generally. In a county where brothel barons have historically held an outsized political clout, Nye outdid itself in November 2018 when it elected Moonlite Bunny Ranch pimp Dennis Hof, who had inconveniently died a few weeks earlier. As Reuters so dryly stated, “Death no barrier for Nevada pimp candidate.”

After watching the commission in action Thursday, I’m starting to suspect a Hof Weekend at Bernie’s impersonation would be a winner in Nye County politics. But as outrageous as Hof was in life, he’d be hard-pressed to top Commissioner Blundo in the audacity department these days.

Blundo celebrated his latest escape from ethics trouble Thursday when the state attorney general’s office confirmed it was declining to prosecute him on a charge of criminal misconduct of a public officer. He was arrested at Thanksgiving by Nye County Sheriff’s deputies after a formal complaint from Nye County Manager Tim Sutton, who was laboring under the apparently outdated belief that a politician who votes to direct taxpayer funds to his own business is ethically shoddy and breaking the law.

While Blundo expressed relief on Thursday after previously blaming his legal trouble on “deep-state, swamp behavior,” Sutton was less sanguine. The manager said in a statement that he was moved to file his complaint after a Nov. 10 commission meeting in which Blundo acknowledged his apparent conflict, then voted to direct $50,000 in CARES dollars to Carmelo’s Bistro, a Pahrump restaurant he owns.

“As a business owner, Commissioner Blundo had every right to participate in the CARES program and apply for funding. As a commissioner, he had every right to set policy and monetary thresholds for CARES program recipients. The problem is that he did both, which was illegal and unethical. It is a basic tenet of ethics law that public officials must abstain from voting on any item that would benefit them financially. Simply disclosing a conflict of interest is not enough. The public official must also abstain from voting on the item. Keeping private and public interests separate can be difficult, especially for business owners like Commissioner Blundo, but the obligation remains nonetheless. It is disappointing that the Attorney General’s Office apparently dismissed this matter, especially since their attorneys helped draft the charging document they ultimately declined to prosecute.

“I never wanted to see Commissioner Blundo get arrested or go to jail, especially not on Thanksgiving Day. However, his conduct was wrong and needed to be brought forward. Mold grows in the dark, and I’ve done my part to shed light on this matter. It is impermissible for elected officials to vote themselves $50,000 bonuses. Whether the voters of this county or the Ethics Commission agree remains to be seen.”

I suspect Mr. Sutton eats lunch alone a lot in Nye County.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR. His newest book—a biography of iconic Nevada civil rights and political leader, Joe Neal— “Westside Slugger: Joe Neal’s Lifelong Fight for Social Justice” is published by University of Nevada Press and is available at Amazon.com. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith