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CHIEF OF ETHICS PANEL STANDS HER GROUND Jennings Doesn't Back Down from Investigating Complaint Against Governor By Ed Vogel Review-Journal Capital Bureau, 12-02-02 CARSON CITY - When she took the job as executive director of the Nevada Ethics commission in May, Stacy Jennings never imagined she soon would be engaged in an ugly battle with the state's most powerful elected official. In our previous job, as executive director of the Nevada Dairy Commission, Jennings investigated whether grocers were charging the proper price for milk. But five months into her new job, she started receiving complaints that Gov. Kenny Guinn had appointed an unqualified candidate to lead the state Department of Cultural Affairs. "We try to treat every complaint that comes through the office with the same dignity and integrity, whether it involve someone appointed to a board in Ely or someone in a high-profile executive or legislative office," Jennings, 35, said in an interview last week. "If you asked my mother, she would tell you I am strong and strong-willed." Nonetheless, she admits an investigation into the complaint put her under a lot of stress. It also has led some top-ranking officials, speaking anonymously, to charge the governor's office has put pressure on the Ethics Commission to fire Jennings. Two previous executive directors left after only short periods in the job, including one who was fired. Keith Munro, Guinn's personal lawyer, denies such comments, characterizing them as "silly." He said he has had no contact with the Ethics Commission about Jennings. "I don't know yet," was Jennings' only response to questions on whether the Guinn investigation has put her job in jeopardy. Though some Ethics Commission members declined to comment on whether they support Jennings, others back her fully. Chairman Todd Russell said he is "very pleased" with her performance. Commissioner Rick Hsu added, "I think Stacy has done a phenomenal job since she became executive director, and I support what she has done." Judy Hendrix, the former Nevada State Museum acting director whose complaint against Guinn led to the investigation, said the administration's treatment of Jennings has been "very unfair." Although Guinn was cleared Nov. 18 by a two-member Ethics Commission panel of any violations, the 240-page investigative report compiled by Jennings shows steps taken by his lawyers to discredit her and thwart her attempts to secure information. At one point, Drennan "Tony" Clark, the solicitor general in the attorney general's office, said Jennings' activities and those of Hendrix "may well subject one or both of them to criminal prosecution." He called the investigation a "trial by ambush." Deputy Attorney General Stephen Quinn, who also represented Guinn, had demanded Jennings cease all contact with state Personnel Director Jeanne Greene and others unless conducted through him and in writing. Instead of personally explaining why he has kept Scott Sisco as the interim director of the Department of Cultural Affairs since March 2001, Guinn let his lawyers handle the complaint. Sisco is a Carson City High School graduate who lacks the education required by law for directors of the agency. And Clark refused in a Nov. 8 letter to provide "any evidence or materials" on behalf of Guinn until he saw a copy of what recommendation Jennings intended to make on the complaint. Clark sought to depose Jennings, wanting a list of all people with whom she spoke and copies of all documents she intended to present at the Nov. 18 hearing. Jennings responded that "the ethics in government process is not an adversarial process, and the executive director is not a prosecutor. There are no charges against your client, and this is not a trial." Instead she said the panel hearing was preliminary and was to merely determine whether there was cause to go forward on a full Ethics Commission hearing on the complaint. Nancy Lee Varnum, the Ethics Commission lawyer, maintained if Clark were permitted to depose Jennings, then that could have a "chilling effect on members of the public being willing to bring complaints against public officers and public officials." The investigative report shows Guinn's lawyers fought subpoenas issued by the Ethics Commission to secure information about Sisco's background. They challenged Jennings' motives, saying she had applied for the Cultural Affairs Department job more than a year ago. "Ms. Jennings appears to have been searching for a complainant to file a request for opinion concerning this position," Clark wrote in an Oct. 31 letter to the commission. "Clearly, should Mr. Sisco be forced out of the position, that vacancy would inure to the benefit of Ms. Jennings as an applicant for the position." Not until after the complaint was dismissed did Guinn himself give his reasons for keeping Sisco on the job. He said in a previous interview that because of the hiring freeze he has maintained throughout his first term, he will not replace Sisco with a permanent director in the immediate future. He said the state saves money by keeping Sisco performing the duties of Cultural Affairs Department director and its administrative services officer. "We have him working in two positions; I am a little confused as to why this happened," Guinn said, referring to the complaint and the resulting controversy. Guinn's lawyers never told the commission the reason why Guinn kept Sisco on the job. The issue arose out of Hendrix's charge that Guinn violated a state law that prohibits giving unwarranted financial privileges to a state employee. Guinn named Sisco as the interim director of the Department of Cultural Affairs in March 2001. He earns $82,513 a year in a job that requires a four-year college degree. Hendrix cried foul, noting the department led by Sisco includes the state's library, archives, museums and historic preservations, agencies whose chiefs must have post-graduate educations. Hendrix said in an interview, "There are plenty of people out there in state government that have degrees that could be hired to do what Scott Sisco is doing. They are afraid if they speak out, they will lose their jobs." Because others would face reprisals if they complained, Hendrix said, she filed the complaint. "The administration and Sisco have done all they can do to me." Hendrix admitted she had run-ins with Sisco. She said they led to her quitting state government after a 28-year career. Sisco refused to release any information about his background without a subpoena. When subpoenas were issued by the Ethics Commission, Clark and Deputy Attorney General Steven Quinn challenged them. Not until Nov. 15 - three days before the Ethics Commission hearing - did the attorney general's office release any information about Sisco's background. The only information released were public records that any resident would legally be able to obtain. Jennings said she received more information about Sisco off the financial disclosure statement key state officials must submit to her office every year. "We agreed to provide information not confidential," Quinn said. "I am troubled with the head of the Ethics Commission would benefit personally from creating a vacancy in the Department of Cultural Affairs. The investigation was done by the person seeking the job." Because of the controversy, Sisco said he sometimes wishes he never took the interim director's job. "I am honored the governor asked me to do it," Sisco said. "but I should have stayed in my old position and took overtime. I would have made more money than the governor last year." Sisco added there is only a 4.5 percent difference in pay between what he receives as the department's administrative services office and the pay for the department director. WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN FAIRNESS | ||
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