The primary standoff between Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) and longtime city officials was even more expensive than previously thought.
North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown and City Council members Isaac Barron and Scott Black all have ties to a new PAC behind the mailers that described Neal as “‘Dirty Deal’ Neal” and alleged that she has been “soft-on-crime for decades [and] has tried to destroy our police department and community.” The trio of officials — who feuded with Neal in the 2023 Legislature and publicly backed her state Senate primary opponent — collectively donated $16,000 that eventually went to the PAC.
But the extent of those ties only became public last week with the release of campaign finance reports for the second quarter, which runs from April through June — more than one month after Neal cruised to re-election in early June.
So why are we just learning about this now?
A loophole in Nevada law allows PACs (and political candidates) to wait more than a month after the state’s primaries to disclose information about who’s funding them and how much money they spent in the second quarter. A subset of PACs that register after March 31 can take particular advantage of this loophole because they are not required to report any campaign finance information until after the primary, leaving the public even more in the dark about their operations.
A Nevada Independent analysis found that 26 new PACs and political nonprofits were registered between April 1 and the June 11 primary. Together, 10 of these groups raked in more than $1.6 million in that period and spent almost all of that money — transactions that only became public this month.
Read More: Who’s funding negative campaign mail? Legal loophole helps some groups avoid disclosure
The loophole stems from a 2017 law (AB45) that, in part, shifted state campaign finance reporting deadlines to a quarterly system, in line with the schedule followed by candidates for federal office, but without any of the additional transparency requirements for reporting pre-election fundraising totals. The change was made via an amendment offered by Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), though the concept was never discussed during a bill hearing.
“It’s an effective means to be quiet with your money,” said Ken Miller, a UNLV political science professor. “You can set up this PAC at the last minute, you can engage in whatever sort of advertising or advocacy you want to do, and then you can fold up, and no one’s going to notice until after the election’s over.”
The topline fundraising haul was almost entirely made up by the $1.4 million that was raised and spent by the Better Nevada Ballot Advocacy Committee, a new PAC that is an offshoot of the Gov. Joe Lombardo-affiliated Better Nevada PAC. This committee helped gather signatures for the ballot question to require voter ID, which has qualified for the November ballot.
The entirety of the $1.4 million fundraising haul came in a roundabout way from the Las Vegas Sands, which contributed $1.5 million to the Better Nevada PAC, which turned around and contributed a similar amount to the offshoot PAC. All of this money was spent on advertising and consultants.
Otherwise, the most notable disclosures came from PACs involved in the North Las Vegas state Senate Democratic primary. The group behind the anti-Neal mailers — called North Valley — received donations from two other committees: the Moving Forward PAC ($13,000) and North Las Vegas Momentum PAC ($3,000).
The Moving Forward PAC formed in April and is registered to Goynes-Brown under the email [email protected]. Within 10 days of being registered, the PAC raised $14,000, with $7,000 each from Goynes-Brown and Black. All but $1,000 went to the North Valley PAC, with the rest unspent.
The North Las Vegas Momentum PAC is registered to Black and has been active since 2022. It raised $26,000 in the second quarter — with donations from Stations Casino, the city’s police supervisors PAC and supporters of North Las Vegas Councilman Richard Cherchio — and gave $3,000 to North Valley.
The remainder of North Valley’s second quarter haul was a $350 contribution from Barron, who was listed as the PAC’s chair and was appointed this month to a nonvoting position on the Clark County School Board.
Goynes-Brown, Barron and Black did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Miller, the UNLV professor, said the reporting loophole is particularly advantageous in lower-level races, such as Neal’s primary, because the campaigns are much shorter and involve less money.
“The best use of your money [in lower-level races] is to just have a quick little burst of mailers or other communications at the very end, right when people are getting ready to fill out their ballots,” Miller said.
Other new PACs
Other new PACs also raised five figures between before the primary.
Every Eligible Nevadan, which backed Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola’s re-election bid, raised $50,000, with all the money coming from the group’s national organization, Every Eligible American, which promotes voting access. Andriola, a Republican appointed by Lombardo, cruised to victory in a six-person primary in June despite facing an opposition funded by far-right activist Robert Beadles.
Another group called New Voice PAC raised $50,000, all from Lorenzo Fertitta, who is one of the majority owners of Red Rock Resorts, which operates Station Casinos. The PAC — which reported spending nearly $50,000 on consultant and advertising costs — is registered to Shaundell Newsome, the founder of a Las Vegas marketing firm who used to work as marketing director at Station Casinos. The group’s goal is to “help elect good candidates for office,” according to its registration form.
The other new group to raise five figures was the Win/Gana PAC, whose stated goal is to elect women of color to office. The PAC’s registration was submitted by Jennifer Fleischmann, a member of immigrant advocacy group Make the Road Nevada. Fleishmann was the plaintiff in the Democrat-backed lawsuit to block the voter ID ballot initiative.
Win/Gana raised $75,000 in the second quarter, with contributions from Southwest Gas, Las Vegas Chamber, Nevada Resorts PAC and Citizens for Justice, the political arm of a group of state trial lawyers. It reported spending $63,500, all on advertising.
