The Doyle dilemma
An investigation into the campaign finances of a Reno city councilwoman may not end before her term is up
Next month will mark the second anniversary of this newspaper’s revelation that Reno City Councilwoman Sherrie Doyle may have violated Nevada election laws. What a long strange trip it’s been.
RN&R associate editor D. Brian Burghart reported on Feb. 3, 2000, that Doyle had accepted during her campaign for City Council more than $39,000 in campaign and personal loans from Northeast Reno resident Beth Miramon. Nevada election law states that a candidate can accept only $10,000 from an individual before an election—$5,000 for the primary and $5,000 for the general election.
The day after Burghart’s report, the Reno Police Department requested that state law enforcement officials begin investigating the case.
In January 2001, the Nevada Division of Investigation submitted a report on the matter to the secretary of state, and last May, it was turned over to the Attorney General’s Office.
The longer the investigation of alleged campaign finance violations drags on, the longer Doyle has something hanging over her head and possibly controlling her votes, said Bren Kushner, a spokesman for a group of Reno businessmen called Citizens for Good Government.
“I think the investigation is politically motivated, since she is an important vote on the council,” Kushner said.
When investigators produced no new developments by August, the group of Reno business owners—including casino moguls Pete Cladianos and George Karadanis, as well as mayoral candidate Mike Robinson—wrote the Attorney General’s Office noting that the statute of limitations had expired on one of the charges and expressing concern that the others could soon run out.
“The public is not being served when charges against an elected official are dragged out in this manner. … Councilwoman Doyle, as an elected official, is being subjected to cruel and unusual delays by the inaction of your office,” the letter stated. “Please do what is just and fair and file the charges. It would be beneficial to all concerned to get this whole matter over with, so we can move on to more positive issues.”
Doyle has become the swing vote on some controversial issues, including ReTrac, the plan to dig a 2.1-mile railroad trench through downtown Reno.
The Citizens for Good Government members asked Doyle last month to abstain from any further votes on the train trench because she indicated at an October council meeting that her campaign benefactors supported the project.
This week, Doyle led the charge for a review of City Manager Charles McNeely’s job performance. A majority of council members voted Tuesday to conduct a performance evaluation during a hearing closed to the public.
Doyle and other council members said the city staff, under the leadership of McNeeley, has been slow in responding to some requests by council members. The vote will allow the council to review McNeeley’s performance earlier than the city manager’s scheduled annual review date in March.
In a RN&R follow-up about the Doyle investigation in May, Burghart noted that Doyle may also have under-reported contributions on her financial disclosures, as she did not declare any loans on her March 31, 1999, report with the Nevada Commission on Ethics, which requires the disclosure of loans of more than $5,000. Signed IOUs to Miramon indicate that Doyle’s disclosure was inaccurate.
Some theorized that the investigation was politically motivated, since it was Reno Police Chief Jerry Hoover who requested state officials to conduct the investigation, and Doyle and the RPD have often been at odds.
“I don’t know if there is any merit to the allegations. However, this is a serious matter to the City of Reno, Councilwoman Doyle and the citizens of Reno and needs to be investigated,” Hoover wrote in a letter to state officials.
But David Thompson, a deputy for the attorney general’s criminal division, said politics have nothing to do with the investigation.
“Our job is to determine whether a crime has taken place and whether we can prove it beyond the shadow of reasonable doubt,” Thompson said.
Thompson would not comment on the specifics of the case but did acknowledge that the lengthiness of the investigation was tied to determining if there was any criminal intent to deceive. He said that he is paying attention to remaining statute-of-limitations issues, and he said a decision would be made on the case before any remaining time runs out. That could be three to four years, depending on the allegation.
The Doyle investigation is the first alleged violation of campaign finance law since Nevada’s law was changed in 1996, reducing the $20,000 maximum allowable contribution from an individual to $10,000.
Doyle said she hoped for an end to the investigation and had no further comment. Doyle’s attorney, Tom Viloria, said that she is cooperating fully with investigators from the Attorney General’s Office.
In earlier stories about the investigation, Doyle said that she was unaware of the $10,000 limit. As a single mother of two without a full-time job before being elected to the council in 1998, Doyle relied on her friend, Miramon, for living expenses.
Violation of state election law is a felony punishable by a $5,000 fine and up to four years in state prison. If Doyle is convicted of a felony, she could lose her council seat, and an appointee would serve out her term.
Doyle didn’t say whether she plans to run for reelection when her term expires this year. Three potential challengers are interested in the race: Reno Planning Commissioner Dwight Dortch, Stead Neighborhood Advisory Board Chairman James Martin, and Stead Neighborhood Advisory Board member Bonnie Weber.