Courtesy of AP
This rendering provided by the Oakland Athletics on May 26, 2023, shows a view of their proposed new ballpark at the Tropicana site in Las Vegas.
Thursday, July 13, 2023 | 5:45 p.m.
The Nevada educator-led group that is fighting against $380 million in public subsidies for a baseball park on the Las Vegas Strip has sent a formal complaint to the state alleging that two of the plan’s highest-profile presenters engaged in illegal lobbying activity.
Schools Over Stadiums’ complaint letter to Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes, dated Wednesday, says that economic analyst Jeremy Aguero and Steve Hill, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO, acted as — but did not register as — lobbyists representing the Oakland Athletics in their quest to get public funding for a stadium should the team secure approvals to move to Las Vegas.
“The disclosure of lobbying activities promotes and fosters the people’s faith, trust and confidence in the honesty, integrity and fidelity of their representative government,” Schools Over Stadiums president and Washoe County music teacher Dawn Etcheverry said in the letter.
Schools Over Stadiums is a political action committee affiliated with the Nevada State Education Association, which represents teachers and other educators statewide. NSEA has consistently been vocal in its opposition to the A’s stadium deal, juxtaposing the state investment in a private sports facility with Nevada’s chronically low funding for public schools and stubborn educator staffing vacancies.
The Sun reached out to Aguero and Hill Thursday, though they had not immediately responded for comment.
State law requires lobbyists to register for every session in which they plan to advocate on behalf of other people or organizations to influence legislative action. Paid and unpaid lobbyists must register, and can frequently be seen around the state capitol wearing identifying badges.
State law allows registration exceptions for people who “clearly identify themselves and the interests or interests for whom they are testifying,” or for people who limit their lobbying to “an infrequent or irregular basis.” Schools Over Stadiums contends that neither Aguero or Hill would qualify for an exception.
Schools Over Stadiums vice president Chris Daly said that if lawmakers and Gov. Joe Lombardo wanted to hold lengthy hearings with school districts ahead of approving major investments in school funding this spring, beneficiaries of ballpark subsidies should face the same scrutiny.
Andrea DeMichieli, a school counselor in Washoe County and officer with Schools Over Stadiums, had similar sentiments.
“While educators appreciated the calls for greater accountability for our schools, we believe at least the same standards should apply when gifting hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to out-of-state billionaires,” she said in a statement. “Failing to register as lobbyists and disclose for whom you are working is the opposite of transparency and accountability, and everyone involved should demand better.”
Schools Over Stadiums leaders have also said they are preparing to sue or rally the signatures needed for voters to decide whether the funding law should be nullified, whether by referendum or initiative. A lawsuit, referendum and initiative are not dependent on one another, so the stadium opponents could pursue these in some combination — and have suggested that they would do so.
