The Nevada Ethics Commission on Wednesday could not agree—in a split vote—that Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve violated state ethics laws after she failed to disclose she had a relationship with the McDonald Carano law firm.
Schieve hired the firm to sue the private investigator who placed a GPS tracker on her vehicle. The same firm advocated for a bond to the Reno City Council.
Commissioners failed to approve a motion that would have found her guilty of violating state ethics laws. Instead, Commissioner Scott Sherer motioned that commissioners put forward two opinions in the case and that Schieve is “strongly encouraged” to take ethics training.
The ethics commission’s attorney pushed to determine Schieve’s failure to disclose her relationship to the law firm was a violation of state ethics laws.
Two commissioners voted to approve a motion that Schieve violated the law, while two others voted against the motion. The penalties, if found guilty, would have been a letter of reprimand and mandatory ethics training.
Schieve, instead, will be encouraged to take ethics training after commissioners draft two separate opinions in the case. The opinions will detail why the commissioners disagreed.
Deputy City Attorney Jonathan Shipman strongly disputed any violations by Schieve. He said Schieve, who hired McDonald Carano, was not in a business relationship with the firm other than as a client.
“The public has a right to know [but] what we have is a dispute over the legal analysis,” he said. “It’s just a disagreement over what legal analysis applies. She doesn’t work for McDonald Carano. So they’re not her interests. She’s paying them.”
