PAHRUMP, Nev. (AP) — Commissioners in central Nevada's Nye County have voted unanimously to reprimand the county assessor over e-mails questioning the citizenship of workers building a new county jail.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Assessor Shirley Mason asked for an investigation of the workers' citizenship or work visa status in a March 11 e-mail to Sheriff Tony DeMeo.
Matson wrote that her staff and the public "can plainly see that the construction employees are all Mexican/Latino non-English speaking and I'm getting complaints."
That e-mail was among many between Matson and the sheriff, sent after Matson took office. The sheriff told Matson her remarks were blatantly racist and her request was unconstitutional.
While the commissioners agreed Matson violated the county's personal conduct policy, they could do little more than issue a public reprimand because she's an elected official.
Matson told commissioners she was trying to keep the county from being embarrassed.
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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com
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