(The Center Square) – Attorney General Aaron Ford has been accused of using the official Nevada attorney general’s “X” social media account to promote his campaign for governor.
The complaint was filed with the Nevada Commission of Ethics by retired Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bernard Zadrowski, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Zardowski, who’s also a former chairman of the Clark County Republican Party, alleged Ford created links to his personal account on the official @NevadaAG X account, the Review-Journal reported. The daily newspaper noted Zardowski called the connection a breach of campaign law and that the complaint involves more than 100 posts.
Ford’s personal account is normally used to campaign and has a donation link.
A spokesperson for the Democratic attorney general’s gubernatorial campaign Monday called the potential violation an “oversight.” But the spokesperson told The Center Square that the complaint, made by a Republican former district attorney, is an attack by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.
When asked about that, Lombardo’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Ray, told The Center Square on Monday, “As he reiterated to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Mr. Zadrowski filed his complaint independently. I’m sure you have already done so, but I would reach out to him directly for any comment related to his motivations for filing his complaint.”
Zardowski did not respond Monday to a request for comment by The Center Square. But he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the topic of campaign rules: “Anybody who’s campaigning should know this, but most importantly, the chief prosecutor of the state of Nevada.”
The Nevada Commission of Ethics, meanwhile, told The Center Square that the panel can “neither confirm nor deny the existence of a complaint at this time.” The panel added that the complaint, if it exists, could not be released until the eight-person review panel issued a ruling or Zardowski authorized it to be made public.
“Number one, this was an oversight on the attorney general’s side,” the spokesperson for Ford’s campaign office told The Center Square. “But it’s worth noting that Lombardo’s side has been doing the same thing.”
Ford’s office drew attention toward a years-long dispute that started in 2021, when a complaint was made against Lombardo’s use of his Clark County sheriff badge and position. This past September, it was deemed an accidental campaign law violation by the Commission of Ethics.
Ford’s campaign spokesperson also noted that a secondary X account of Lombardo’s, “Lombardo Outreach,” had committed a similar campaign violation as Ford’s had. Lombardo Outreach linked to his official and campaign accounts on multiple posts.
Ray, spokesperson for the governor’s office, called the Lombardo Outreach posts a mistake. “The Lombardo Outreach X account is managed by constituent services staff and is intended to highlight events attended by members of the Governor’s Office.”
“Two posts were errantly tagged with the campaign handle, and internal measures have been implemented to ensure this does not happen again,” Ray told The Center Square. “The campaign and official accounts for Gov. Lombardo have been and continue to be operated independently.”
