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May. 28, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

GOVERNOR RESPONDS TO ALLEGATION: Gibbons denies affair with woman

Elko newspaper says he is 'involved' with doctor's wife

By ED VOGEL
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
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Elko Daily Free Press editorial and Jim Gibbons response

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons on Tuesday denied he has been having an affair with the wife of a Reno doctor, countering claims published last week in an Elko newspaper that the two are "involved."

In a letter to the Elko Daily Free Press, Gibbons stated he has been a "friend" of the woman for more than 15 years but "there is nothing inappropriate about that friendship."

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    • "Saying I am 'involved' with her certainly leads readers to believe something that is not true," wrote Gibbons, who has filed for divorce from his wife, Dawn.

    The governor has requested that the divorce proceedings be kept from public view. Dawn Gibbons' attorney is working to unseal the case.

    In a May 21 editorial supporting Dawn Gibbons' efforts to unseal the case, the Free Press charged that the governor was "involved" with the woman but did not cite sources for its allegation.

    "She shall go unnamed to save her husband public humiliation," the editorial stated.

    Political operatives from both parties have alleged repeatedly since his 2006 gubernatorial campaign that Gibbons has a close personal relationship with the wife of a Reno doctor.

    A source told the Review-Journal recently that the governor accompanied the woman to school events for her children.

    Gibbons has repeatedly denied an extramarital relationship.

    In response to a question from a member of the Capitol press corps in March, the governor laughed and denied that he had "a girlfriend." His response was printed in the Review-Journal.

    The governor declined Tuesday to comment further on his response to the Elko editorial.

    The Review-Journal has made repeated attempts in recent weeks, including on Tuesday, to contact the woman alleged to be Gibbons' mistress. A call to her husband on Tuesday went unanswered.

    One source close to the governor said the woman and Gibbons have been friends since high school.

    Gibbons, however, is 63 and the woman is in her late 40s.

    In his May 2 divorce filing, the governor cited "incompatibility in marriage" as the reason he was seeking to part ways with wife of nearly 22 years.

    But Dawn Gibbons claimed she did not know why the governor wanted a divorce. Her lawyer, Cal Dunlap, filed legal documents last week in which he asked Gov. Gibbons to give more specific details on the reasons for the divorce.

    A judge approved the sealing of most records in the case at the request of lawyer Gary Silverman. State laws allow one party in a divorce to close records and request the divorce be conducted behind closed doors.

    Dunlap is completing legal briefs to seek to open the sealed records and require the Gibbonses' divorce trial to be conducted in public.

    Dunlap declined Tuesday to comment on Gibbons' response to the Elko editorial.

    In his letter to the Elko newspaper, Gibbons blasted the newspaper, saying the editorial was "filled with innuendo and quite frankly, tabloid-style gossip. It was absolutely out of bounds of good taste and common decency."

    "I strongly believe that even public officials deserve a certain degree of privacy," Gibbons stated. "Therefore, I do not intend to comment regularly on each and every rumor that circulates concerning me or my wife. But when such rumors are given as fact in a paper I respect as much as this one, I felt absolutely that some response from me would be needed to set the record straight."

    The Elko editorial also argued that Dawn Gibbons should be allowed to remain in the governor's mansion.

    Gov. Gibbons -- who has been spending nights at the couple's longtime home in southwest Reno while Dawn Gibbons lives in the governor's mansion -- is seeking a court ruling to have her evicted so that he can move back to the mansion.

    The Elko newspaper accused the Nevada media of failing to "get into the nitty-gritty" of what has gone on between the governor and first lady.

    Gibbons is the first governor in state history to seek a divorce while serving as the state's chief executive. Govs. Paul Laxalt and Robert List divorced after they left office.

    Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau chief Ed Vogel at vogel@reviewjournal.com or 775- 687-3901.



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    SureJim wrote on May 31, 2008 01:06 PM: Sure, Gov. We believe you. You have probably never looked at another woman. You are a good, non-practicing Mormon with the highest family values, even though this will be your second divorce. And that thing they accused you of in the parking garage during the election, I believe everything you say. Just say it, and it becomes true in my mind. Do you also have some swampland you can sell me? Thanks for upholding the high "family values" standard and the sanctity of your political party. With good guys like you getting bashed in the media with awful allegations, I can understand why other God-fearing Republicans refuse to put their names on the ballot. By the way, I think you are a really good Governor too. And everyone like you too, don't they. Please contact me about that swampland, and don't let that big, bad First Lady drag your moral name through the mud. She is really the villian, right, Gov. Just say it, and I will believe it.


    John O'Neill wrote on May 29, 2008 02:01 PM: what p u n k b i t c h keeps removing my mother f u c k i n g comments at the rj?


    nevadatom wrote on May 29, 2008 12:05 AM: The reputation of this man was tarnished before he was gov of nev, how can he get any work done for us, he takes off to Iraq to avoid his wife, he is in the middle of divorce which is time consuming and stressful, and to top it off, he's out courting a married woman... I don't think anyone is picking on him and its only going to get worse...we should have seen this coming


    bob wrote on May 28, 2008 11:04 PM: Can we impeach this CLOWN???????


    Steve wrote on May 28, 2008 06:14 PM: vegasgirl,

    Has Jim Gibbons lied under oath about it yet? As far as Clinton getting a BJ, I say go for it...but when he lied under oath being the leader of the greatest country in the free world, then he should have been strung up in the middle of town square. That's the difference although people like you can't comprehend something so simple.

    Wild Bill,

    If you weren't such a coward homophobe, maybe you could join us.


    Stan wrote on May 28, 2008 05:56 PM: Embarrassed again? Hey, don't look at me. I didn't vote for him.


    vegasgirl wrote on May 28, 2008 05:44 PM:
    Waylon King wrote on May 28, 2008 06:40 AM:
    The Governor's private life is no one's business but his. Knock it off gossipers!!!

    I'm curious, Waylon: If Gibbons were a Democrat, would you feel the same way?
    Funny how all of you defending this scumbag were probably the same ones going ballistic over Bill Clinton's sleazy and reckless behavior.
    Oh, I forgot: Gibbons is a Republican, and whatever they do is OK.
    What hypocrisy.


    vegasgirl wrote on May 28, 2008 05:40 PM: What in the hell were the people of my homestate thinking when they elected this trainwreck?
    This inarticulate and corrupt joke of a governor needs to resign -- now.


    Donna's Mom wrote on May 28, 2008 04:35 PM: Donna! Get back to work! I promise not to rattle the bedpost!


    Wild Bill wrote on May 28, 2008 03:52 PM: So much for Republican family values. Even gay Republicans like Senator Craig cheats on their wives.

    The poster Steve, however, is in an alternative lifestyle and him and his husband have an open relationship.

    Steve, you go, girl!


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