Thursday, Jan. 8, 1998 | 7:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY - A tally of early campaign contributions being reported for the first time shows nearly $5 million in money went to Nevada candidates before the 1998 election year started.
Secretary of State Dean Heller said the total, released Wednesday by his office, represents "money which the public would not have known about if we had not gotten campaign finance disclosure reform passed" in 1997.
Under the new law, contributions collected in the year preceding an election must be reported if they total $10,000 or more. And the source of any contributions of $100 or more must be disclosed, down from $500 or more.
The highest total was the $2.5 million received by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenny Guinn - who has such a big campaign warchest that he has scared off some highly touted Democratic challengers.
Those potential challengers include Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, whose report showed nearly $250,000 in early money - most of it returned following her announcement that she wouldn't seek the governor's seat.
Others in the $10,000-plus category include Larry Brown, with $439,877 for his Las Vegas City Council re-election bid; GOP gubernatorial hopeful Aaron Russo with $309,690; and Clark County Commissioners Lorraine Hunt with $232,100 and Myrna Williams with $217,350.
Republican Scott Scherer listed $124,918 for his race for attorney general. His GOP opponent, Thomas Wright of Reno, reported he has collected $34,705, of which $12,500 came from his personal funds.
Clark County Sheriff Jerry Keller listed $121,800. That included $5,000 apiece from the Fremont, Stardust, California hotel-casinos and Boyd Gaming.
Brian Krolicki, state Treasurer Bob Seale's top deputy, reported $47,100 for his bid to get Seale's job should the treasurer not seek re-election.
But Krolicki decided to return $5,000 - his largest single contribution - to a California political action committee because it wasn't registered in Nevada to donate such funds.
The money had come from the Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Political Action Committee in Sacramento, Calif.
Krolicki said he learned of the illegal contribution from a news story that stated Nevada law requires a political action committee to register with the secretary of state before it engages in any activity.
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