Nevada ethics commission finds nonwillful violation by former North Las Vegas city manager over post‑employment contract

The Nevada Commission on Ethics on June 18 approved a stipulated agreement finding that former City of North Las Vegas city manager Ryan Juden committed a nonwillful violation for negotiating a post‑employment consulting contract while still employed.

The commission accepted jurisdiction over complaint number 24148C and voted, by the commissioners participating, to accept the parties’ stipulated agreement resolving the matter.

The case centers on timing, not the substance, of the contract. Executive Director Ross Armstrong told commissioners the commission investigated five potential ethics violations arising from Juden’s conduct while he served as city manager beginning in April 2018. The review panel dismissed all but the allegation related to seeking a contract for oneself after public employment; the parties then negotiated a stipulation resolving that remaining claim.

“There really is a timing issue with a public employee negotiating their post‑employment contract while they’re still employed,” Armstrong said during the meeting. He told commissioners the contract clause at issue permitted Juden to perform post‑employment consulting services and that Juden incorporated Edge Strategies on Jan. 5, 2024, under which the subsequent consulting arrangement was made.

Todd Kreher, counsel for the respondent, described Juden as a longtime public servant and urged the commission to treat the conduct as nonwillful. “He followed what he believed was the correct course of action, was very transparent in having that clause of his employment agreement exercised, making sure that it went through the proper channels,” Kreher said.

Commissioners debated the matter before voting. Commissioner Terry Reynolds said he would vote to accept the nonwillful finding but described the three‑year consulting term in the North Las Vegas contract as “unconscionable,” calling it a governance matter outside the commission’s statutory scope. Commissioner Lowry also said she agreed with Reynolds’s policy concern but that the ethics law limits the commission’s review to timing and negotiating matters.

Under the stipulation and the commission’s finding, Armstrong said the commission will notify the City of North Las Vegas that, if a violation is found, the contract may be void under the ethics law and that the city may determine next steps for any affected agreement.

The commission recorded the item as case 24148C and found the conduct to be a nonwillful violation of the cited ethics provisions. The stipulation was approved unanimously among participating commissioners.

The commission’s public materials on the case indicate the review panel process and that the alleged misconduct was limited to the timing of contract negotiations and execution while Juden remained in office. No criminal charges or additional enforcement beyond the stipulated administrative resolution were announced at the meeting.