Coalition Urges No Vote on Oceguera with Investigation Still Open

(NN&V Staff) – A coalition of conservative organizations today sent a letter to GOP members of the Nevada State Assembly urging them to oppose the election of Democrat Assemblyman John Oceguera as Speaker for the 2011 legislative session unless or until accusations of campaign finance violations are resolved.

OPEN LETTER TO MEMBERS OF THE NEVADA STATE ASSEMBLY
On February 7, 2011, you will be asked to officially elect John Oceguera as Speaker of the Assembly for the 2011 Nevada legislative session. In the interest of good, open and ethical government, we the undersigned urge you to consider an alternative.

As you probably know, the Organized Labor Party of Nevada has filed a complaint against the Assembly Democratic Caucus with the Nevada Secretary of State. This is not frivolous complaint; the actions and violations alleged are potential felonies and Secretary Miller has opened an investigation.

As head of the Caucus, Mr. Oceguera stands accused of helping fund the campaigns of members of the Caucus in this last election cycle and hiding it from public view.

In addition, it appears that on at least two occasions his own campaign accepted contributions from the Caucus in excess of the constitutionally mandated limits. These contributions were not disclosed by the Caucus or on his own Contribution and Expense (C&E) reports.

During the two reporting periods from January 1, 2009 through May 27, 2010 individual members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, according to their individual C&E Reports, “reimbursed” the Caucus $210,072.04. Yet those “reimbursements” do not show up on the Caucus’ C&E Reports. In fact, the Caucus only reported paying expenses in the amount of $1,041.15.

What happened to the other $209,030.89?

These reporting irregularities raise serious questions about the integrity of our elections and, if true, would be a serious betrayal of the trust of the people of Nevada.

It is not our intention to undermine collegiality in the Legislature before the next session even starts; however, the people of Nevada deserve leaders of unimpeachable character. As such, we urge you to consider an alternative to Mr. Oceguera as Speaker of the Nevada Assembly unless these serious ethical and legal questions hanging over his head are resolved satisfactorily.

Respectfully yours,

Debbie Landis
Action is Brewing

Adam Stryker
Americans for Prosperity

Mark Ciavola
RightPride

Greg Clemensen
Clemensen Insurance Services

Matthew Jarzen
UNLV College Republicans

Gary Rogers
Nevada Strategies

Norman C, Yeager
Las Vegas Republican Townhall Group

George Harris
Tequila Party

Anthony Warren
Organized Labor Party

Vicky Maltman
North Valleys Republican Women

Chuck Muth
Citizen Outreach