Second petition filed to recall Atkinson-Gates

CARSON CITY -- A second petition was filed late Friday to recall Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates on grounds of ethics violations.

The petition, circulated by Citizens for Honest and Responsible Government, had a reported 4,709 signatures of registered voters compared to the 4,380 names needed to force an election.

It was submitted at 4:11 p.m., 49 minutes before the deadline to the Clark County Voter Registrar Office. Assistant Registrar Larry Lomax said the counting will begin Tuesday to see if there are sufficient signatures.

Gates has delivered to the office cards from 604 persons who want to withdraw their name from the petition. Lomax said those names will have to be verified that they had actually signed the documents.

Lomax said the office has four days to count and will submit its findings to Secretary of State Dean Heller. If there are enough signature, Heller will order Clark County to test the names of 500 persons to see if they are actually verified voters.

Earlier this year, the citizens group presented a petition of 7,480 names to force the recall election. But after the verification process, Heller declared the petition failed. He said only 3,639 signatures were validated, 741 fewer than needed.

The first recall effort was launched after the state Ethics Commission reprimanded Atkinson-Gates for approaching casino executives about obtaining a lease for a frozen daiquiri business. Gates was recently criticized by the ethics commission for her involvement in selecting concessionaires for McCarran International Airport's new D Gates.

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