Ethics settlement rejected for Nevada official over free Knights tickets
The Nevada Commission on Ethics rejected an agreement Wednesday that would have resolved a complaint against the head of the state’s energy office, with commissioners saying they want disciplinary action to include a fine.
The stipulated agreement in the ethics complaint against Dwayne McClinton, director of the Governor’s Office of Energy, acknowledged a willful violation of a prohibition against accepting gifts.
The complaint stated that McClinton accepted free Golden Knights tickets and solicited other perks while negotiating a potential taxpayer-funded sponsorship deal with the NHL franchise.
The agreement would have required McClinton to pay back $450 in ticket costs and obtain ethics training for himself and his staff. It also admonished him for his conduct.
But commissioners argued that proposed penalty was inadequate.
“I don’t think it’s a significant enough consequence for the case,” said Commissioner Teresa Lowry.
She said there was a precedent for a fine in a case against officials with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for accepting gifts. Commissioners suggested a possible fine of $500 or $1,000.
New agreement or hearing
The parties will now either hammer out a new agreement or, if they can’t agree, the case will go to a full hearing before the commission.
Before commissioners voted to reject the settlement, Deputy Attorney General Greg Ott, who was representing McClinton, said his client believed there was educational value in attending the game to better understand what a sponsorship might offer, be it energy office messaging on a billboard or the zamboni.
“I think that the settlement reflects that he understands this was not the proper way to get the information that he legitimately needed, but coming from a private sector mindset, not necessarily a public sector mindset, he didn’t necessarily see those flags when he should have,” Ott said.
McClinton, appointed by Gov. Joe Lombardo to his Cabinet in February 2023, also solicited access to a private watch party last year while negotiating a potential $380,000 annual partnership agreement with the Golden Knights, according to emails the Las Vegas Review-Journal obtained through a public records request.
The partnership deal ultimately fell through.
McClinton neither disclosed the gifts nor abstained from further work on the partnership, according to the complaint. Instead, he asked his finance team “to find creative ways to secure funding” for the partnership.
When McClinton asked his then-deputy director, Jeanne Stoneman, about funding a sponsorship, she cautioned against any deal resembling a sponsorship and involving free tickets and other perks.
The stipulation agreed to a willful violation of a state statute that prohibits seeking or accepting any gift or service that would “tend improperly to influence a reasonable person in his position to depart from the faithful and impartial discharge of his public duties.”
It did not include a violation of a statute prohibiting using his position in government “to secure or grant unwarranted privileges.”
McClinton leads a 12-person state office with a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, according to the office’s website.
The Marine Corps veteran previously worked as the senior legislative adviser for Southwest Gas Corp.
In 2023, McClinton made more than $150,000 a year in pay and benefits, according to TransparentNevada.
McClinton, who did not attend the meeting as he was not required to, has not commented on the complaint.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.