Republican mailer channels the ‘force’ of ‘Star Wars’

Six-thousand "Star Wars"-themed mailers targeting Las Vegas Republicans landed in mailboxes this week, preempting a debate in the Legislature about raising taxes and spurring an inquiry from the Secretary of State’s Office.

The mailers target Assembly Speaker-designee John Hambrick and Assemblyman Chris Edwards while marking the latest bout of internal strife among Nevada Republicans.

Political journalist Jon Ralston first reported on the mailers.

The mailers come from the CRC PAC and allege that Republicans have been “seduced by dark forces” to vote for tax increases.

Hambrick is pictured next to "Star Wars" villain Emperor Palpatine.

The distribution of the mailers followed Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval’s State of the State speech on Jan. 15. The governor asked lawmakers to renew a $600 million tax package and consider increasing business license fees to raise at least $430 million for education. Some Republicans say the new fees would be a tax.

The mailers underscore the ideological divide among Assembly Republicans and foreshadow the most anticipated topic heading into the upcoming legislative session: tax hikes.

The 25-member caucus is home to at least eight lawmakers who’ve signed a no-new-tax pledge. The PAC targeted conservatives who campaigned on promises to not increase taxes but are likely to do so, said Tony Dane, a consultant who operates the PAC.

The Secretary of State’s Office is “consulting with legal counsel in the Attorney General’s Office,” Catherine Lu, secretary of state spokeswoman, said in regards to the PAC expenditure. The office is unsure if Dane properly disclosed the names of donors. A Jan. 14 report Dane submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office shows the PAC had $45,000 on hand. An amendment to the report — filed on the same day — shows an additional $200,000 in the PAC’s coffers.

Dane said he used his own money to fund the PAC. He said he was hired to “straighten out certain members of the Legislature,” but no one told him to fund the PAC.

“Nobody controls the PAC but me. Nobody funds it but me,” he said.

Dane has longstanding relationships with the lawmakers his PAC targeted. He worked on Edwards' failed congressional bid in 2012 and said he’s known Hambrick for almost 20 years.

Edwards panned the mailers as cartoonish and said they lacked merit. Edwards, who is entering his first term in Carson City, said he was unfairly targeted and that his constituents responded by calling the mailers “stupid.”

“The session hasn’t even started,” he said. “There are a few people who are presuming a lot of things without any kind of real evidence.”

Hambrick didn’t return requests for comment.

The conflict among Assembly Republicans began shortly after the Nov. 4 elections.

Assemblyman Ira Hansen, known in the Legislature as a staunch conservative, was the first speaker designee. He lost the top spot after the Reno News and Review unsurfaced racially insensitive columns Hansen penned for the Sparks Tribune.

Hambrick then came to power. His No. 2 was Michele Fiore, a devout anti-tax Republican. She was chosen as the majority leader and chairwoman of the taxation committee. But Hambrick removed her from both spots after it was reported that she had more than $1 million in tax liens against her.

Her dismissal set off a string of back-and-forths and threats of lawsuits from inside and outside the Assembly. The commotion led to one Assembly member panning the caucus as a second-rate Vegas lounge show.

Hambrick and the other members of the 78th Legislature will be sworn into office once the session begins on Feb. 2.