Filing closes with Augustine and Hammargren

The 2006 candidate filing period closed Friday with last-minute entries including the only Nevada constitutional officer ever impeached, a brain surgeon and a porn star.

Controller Kathy Augustine, who was impeached, fined and censured by the Legislature a year ago in December, is running for treasurer. Former lieutenant governor Lonnie Hammargren, a Las Vegas brain surgeon, decided to try to get that job back. And Melody Damayo, who has starred in numerous adult films and now lives in Las Vegas, filed for governor.

Augustine, a Republican, filed for state treasurer saying her impeachment didn't involve any allegations about her financial management skills as controller.

"It was never about the financial job I was doing in my official capacity," she said.

She also said she believes name recognition will help her in the race even if some of that recognition is negative from her impeachment in the Nevada Assembly. And she argued that most people understand if the allegations against her had truly been serious, she would have been removed from office.

She wasn't. But the Nevada Senate did convict, fine and censure her for using office equipment during her 2002 re-election campaign for controller. She was also accused of coercing staff members in her office to handle campaign work on state time and having them prepare campaign reporting documents.

Although a legislative counsel's opinion found nothing wrong with having her office staff prepare campaign financial and reporting documents in 2002, she said this time she has gone "the extra step" and hired a certified public accountant to do the paperwork. And Augustine said no one on her staff in the controller's office will be involved in her campaign for treasurer.

Hammargren, also a Republican, is the 11th candidate to file for lieutenant governor. He held the job eight years before Lorraine Hunt was elected.

Damayo, whose professional name is Mimi Miagi, is a self-described adult movie star, stripper and Internet entrepreneur based in Las Vegas. She is a Republican but her Web site gave no indication of her stand on any specific issues.

Those and other Friday filings bring the total number of candidates filed for statewide, multidistrict and federal offices this year to 95.

Libertarian Brendan Trainor filed for U.S. Senate saying the culture in Congress needs to be changed. He said voters should seriously consider a Libertarian because they continue getting the same old lack of action from Republicans and Democrats.

James Kroshus filed for Congress as an Independent American Party candidate Friday. He too criticized the major parties saying they are giving Americans "less freedom, more taxes and more moral decay."

John Dicks, a Gardnerville Republican who says he is "not pleased with the path of our political system of government," filed for Assembly District 39 in Douglas County. He said he doesn't believe a politician can accept any form of gratuity without knowing it was done to influence him on some issue. Too many politicians, he said, "are selling their votes" instead of representing their constituents.

The next big date on the campaign season calendar is the Aug. 15 primary election.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.