NV-GOV: Gibbons' Nannygate Governors, Nevada

Nevada Gubernatorial candidate Congressman Jim Gibbons has some questions to answer after it has been revealed that he knew of his former housekeeper/babysitter's immigration status and yet still employed her. From KLAS TV in Las Vegas:

The woman, Patricia Pastor Sandoval, says she worked for the Gibbons' for years and the family occasionally made her hide in the basement to keep her illegal status a secret.[...]

Pastor Sandoval says one reason she is talking about her previous relationship with Jim and Dawn Gibbons is because of the statements Gibbons has made during his campaign about getting tough with illegal immigrants. After all, she was an illegal herself.

Pastor Sandoval, who is Peruvian, says she entered the U.S. in 1984 by hiding in the trunk of a car as it crossed over from Tijuana. She got a job cleaning the sprawling house on the outskirts of Reno. When the Gibbons family bought the house in 1987, she stayed on.

In the beginning, she says no one asked about her legal status, but it became abundantly clear the Gibbons family knew she was not here legally since they often asked her to hide when certain people came to the house.

So what does the Gibbons campaign do to answer the questions surrounding the employment of an illegal alien? That's right, they follow the GOP playbook and blame it on the Democrats.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Jim Gibbons campaign issued its own statement in anticipation of the Channel 8 I-Team story. The scathing letter blames this controversy on Democratic candidate Dina Titus and accuses her of trying to focus the campaign on matters other than the issues, and of maliciously attacking personal reputations.

The statement did not address whether the story told by Patricia Sandoval is true or not.

Jim Gibbons needs to answer the tough questions and let the voters of Nevada know if he is a hypocrite who talks tough on illegal immigration and then employs illegal immigrants. But rather than tell the truth, Gibbons prefers to smear Democrats. His willingness to scapegoat Dina Titus for his own ethical problems shows that he doesn't have the character to be Governor of Nevada.

If you're in Nevada, visit Dina's website and sign up to volunteer. And if you're outside Nevada please contribute to Dina Titus' campaign. 1 hour a day of volunteering can make a difference and every dollar helps to keep the culture of corruption from infiltrating state government.

kencamp | October 25, 2006 | Comment on This Post (1 so far) Permalink: NV-GOV: Gibbons' Nannygate Governors, Nevada

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