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County-paid emails, badges and logos off-limits for endorsements, counsel says
Summary
Counsel advised commissioners they may use their title for identification but cannot use county email addresses, county-paid name badges, logos, letterhead, staff time or county devices for advocacy; using county resources for campaigning is a per se violation that reimbursement does not cure.
Civil prosecuting attorney adviser Katie Joma told commissioners that while they may identify themselves by title in a personal endorsement, the county’s facilities and communications tools must not be used to advocate.
"Your title is yours, but nothing else associated with the county is, and the taxpayers should not be paying for your advocacy or endorsement efforts outside of your official duties," Joma said. She cited examples: do not use county email addresses in candidate materials or the voters pamphlet, do not include the Clark County logo on social media endorsements, and do not ask county staff to perform campaign-related work.
Joma addressed a specific question about county-purchased name badges: wearing a county-paid badge in an endorsement photo or while advocating would be an improper use of county resources and could trigger an ethics complaint or a Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) inquiry.
She further advised that secretarial or neutral commission business (for example, distributing a list of volunteers or turning committee appointment information over to elections) may be performed on county email as long as the content remains factual and neutral; any coordination that goes beyond neutral dissemination should be handled on personal email and devices.
