Constable candidate files complaint against Kincaid

A candidate for Clark County constable filed an ethics complaint Tuesday that targets one of the few remaining commissioners who have escaped investigation this year -- Mary Kincaid.

Steve Bergstrom said his complaint mailed to the state Ethics Commission says Kincaid should have abstained from voting on the appointment of Herb Brown, who in May replaced retired North Las Vegas Constable Lou Tabat.

Bergstrom said Kincaid's son, Mark Kincaid, is Brown's campaign manager.

"I think the ethics board will go after this strong," Bergstrom said. "This is why people hate politics."

Bergstrom said Kincaid and her son talked on the phone the day before the appointment and discussed candidate Brown. He learned of the conversation from North Las Vegas Judge Steve Dahl, who was speaking to Mary Kincaid when her son phoned.

Dahl, however, said he did not know what the Kincaids spoke about. He added that Mark Kincaid became Brown's campaign manager days after the commission appointed him as interim constable.

"I don't know of any improprieties in the appointment of Herb Brown," Dahl said. "If they are going to base a complaint on what I said it will go nowhere."

Bergstrom and Brown were the only candidates who applied for Tabat's job. So far, they are also the only two men vying for constable in the November election.

Mary Kincaid said Tuesday her son told her he was hired by Brown on May 8, three days after Brown was appointed. She said she didn't learn about Mark Kincaid's new job until about three weeks after he accepted it.

"He's 36 years old, he doesn't have to tell me everything," the commissioner said.

She added that it is not surprising that Mark Kincaid was hired by Brown because he is one of few campaign managers who help out North Las Vegas candidates.

"They are not the big, glamorous campaigns," she said.

Shortly after Bergstrom lost the appointment to Brown, Kincaid wrote him a letter explaining why she voted for the opposing candidate. She said she felt more comfortable appointing Brown to the $53,000-a-year job because of his lengthy background in law enforcement.

"I wished him luck in the campaign," Kincaid said. "I really was impressed with Bergstrom's enthusiasm. If he wins, I will be the first to congratulate him and offer him my support."

Bergstrom is confident the Ethics Commission, which just completed an investigation into Clark County commissioners Yvonne Atkinson Gates, Myrna Williams and Lance Malone, will rule in favor of him.

He said he will prove that Dahl told him about the Kincaids' conversation.

"I'm arranging to take a polygraph test to prove the judge is lying; it's deplorable I have to do this," Bergstrom said. "This is not sour grapes. The appointment is something very important."

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