Gates, supporters submit bid to delete signatures

Surrounded by a pack of Culinary Union members and a California congresswoman, Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates delivered more than 600 recision cards to the Elections Department on Thursday.

Gates took a break from her vacation to submit the cards, which she said were signed by people who claimed they were misled when they added their names to a recall petition circulated in May.

The residents came forward after Gates' supporters contacted people whose signatures on a petition filed by Citizens for Honest and Responsible Government (CHARGE) were deemed valid.

"We went back to those people and were told they were lied to," Gates said Thursday. "These cards show people are sick and tired of this and they want me to get back to the job I was elected to do."

Accompanying the commission chairwoman was longtime friend and congresswoman, Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

Waters offered no opinion on the recall effort or a recent Ethics Commission report that lambastes Gates for her involvement in selecting concessionaires for McCarran International Airport's new D-gates.

She said her visit to Las Vegas was to offer Gates moral support.

"Yvonne is my friend," Waters said. "I came over here to wish her well and offer my voice of support. She will prevail."

Gates said most of the people her office contacted admitted they didn't know what they were signing. They thought the petitioners were in support of the Clark County commissioner.

The commissioner -- who also discovered that one of the signatures on CHARGE's petition was signed by a deceased person and at least one address was a vacant lot -- invited the media to Thursday's event to prove her opponents were using underhanded tactics.

Minutes before Gates' arrival, about a dozen Culinary Union members stood outside the Election Department holding about 30 more recision cards.

Glen Arnodo, Culinary's political director, said the group supports Gates and strongly objects to the recall effort funded by casino owner Sheldon Adelson.

"If there were no Sheldon, there would be no recall effort," Arnodo said. "He has targeted her based on her votes on his properties. It will cast a pall on the board if the commissioners feel that if they cross Sheldon Adelson, they will become the subject of a recall effort."

CHARGE members have insisted their effort stems from Gates' attempt to use her position as a commissioner to award friends concession space at the new wing of the airport. In July the state Ethics Commission found her in violation of ethics laws.

Charles Bennion, president of CHARGE, said Thursday afternoon that so many people are circulating petitions -- both for and against Gates -- that it has created a lot of confusion.

"People are getting mad; furious that we're coming back three or four times," Bennion said. "We know these aren't our people going back to the homes, but there is nothing we can do about it.

"This confusion has made people cynical of people coming to the door on this matter. This has made it frustrating. Confusion benefits Gates."

Bennion said his organization doesn't know how to react to Gates' action Thursday because it isn't sure all the recision cards have been signed.

"Last time when they trumpeted their 250 cards, only 50 had been signed," Bennion said. "History says they are not really careful of making sure people who signed it actually signed it."

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