The state energy office director is facing the ethics commission over claims he accepted free Vegas Golden Knights tickets and solicited access to a private luxury watch party while negotiating a potential taxpayer-funded partnership with the hockey franchise.
Dwayne McClinton, director of the Governor’s Office of Energy, neither disclosed the gifts nor abstained from further work on the partnership project, according to a complaint before the Nevada Commission on Ethics. Instead, McClinton asked his finance team “to find creative ways to secure funding,” according to the complaint obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal through a public records request.
The complaint, filed in October by the commission on its own motion, has cleared the hurdle of a review by a commission panel, which in January referred it to the full commission for an opinion, making certain documents in the case public.
McClinton, appointed to his position two years ago, leads a 12-person state office with a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, according to the office’s website. He did not respond to requests for comment. The office had no comment on the complaint, said public information officer Laule’a Akana-Phillips.
State statutes that potentially were violated include seeking any gift or service that would “tend improperly to influence a reasonable person in his position to depart from the faithful and impartial discharge of his public duties,” and “using his position in government to secure or grant unwarranted privileges,” according to the complaint.
When McClinton asked his then-deputy director Jeanne Stoneman about funding a sponsorship, she cautioned against any deal resembling a sponsorship and involving free tickets and other perks.
In 2023, McClinton made more than $150,000 a year in pay and benefits, according to TransparentNevada.
A ‘premier watch party’
In January of last year, a representative of the Vegas Golden Knights contacted McClinton about a potential partnership related to a team initiative focused on renewable energy and sustainability efforts, according to emails obtained in the records request.
A February email referenced putting together a framework for the partnership.
“In the meantime, I would love to invite you out to some games (if it is allowed) and introduce you to the rest of our team,” wrote Jason Walter, senior manager in partnership sales. “Let me know if any of the dates below work for you all and I’ll get tickets over to you.”
McClinton wrote back, “We look forward to receiving and reviewing the working document once ready. In the meantime, I accept your invitation to join you at a game. If I could get two tickets for the March 9th game, it would be appreciated.”
Later in March, Walter invited McClinton to a “partner watch party” at a “premier show home” overlooking the Strip in the DragonRidge Country Club for an “elevated brunch experience and unique watch party.”
In a follow-up email on the same day, Walter wrote, “I’m excited about the potential partnership and think we can collaborate on some really impactful projects.”
Further down in the email, he references a potential amount of $380,00 per year in state funds going to the Knights.
“I’ve attached the document we went over with some pricing and pictures,” he wrote. “Feel free to rank the assets (must have, like to have, and not interested in). I’ll be aggressive in getting as many of these into a proposal that fits within the budget. For reference, this entire document … would cost roughly $380,000 per year.”
McClinton attended the watch party, emails show. Afterwards, he wrote, “I wanted to follow up on a few things. First, by chance are you hosting watch party for Monday April 8th game? I have two of my Northern employees coming to town and would like to surprise them with the experience. Secondly, if you could put me in contact with the person over the local talent recognition. There’s a local artist I would like them to hear. No commitment, I’m curious to hear their thoughts on the song, as I think they’ll love it.”
The email exchange shows that Walter connected him with a team representative in entertainment. The emails do not give the name of the artist.
In late April, Walter emailed McClinton about how the partnership might unfold.
“My thought was we could roll out the partnership in two phases, with the first phase being the launch of the Sustainability Summit and the second phase being more in-game assets starting next season,” he wrote. “We could still host the Summit at the arena (Lee’s Family Forum) but are unable to promote the event using our marketing assets unless you are an official sponsor.”
In early May, McClinton asked Stoneman, the deputy director, for an update on identifying a funding source for what he described as the “VGK sponsorship.”
She responded in part, “We are exploring the possibility of making our agency branding tie in with a ‘marketing campaign’ and we can potentially use that funding. But we can’t call it a ‘sponsorship.’”
She noted that the agency could not receive anything in kind such as “tickets, perks, etc.” She said she was seeking an update from the office’s attorney regarding the matter.
The deal falls through
The office and the team moved forward with a collaboration on an energy summit in July. Plans for a paid partnership, however, fell through. Emails indicated that the summit was not paid for with government funds.
“There is no contract. There never was,” Akana-Phillips, the office’s public information officer, said on Tuesday.
Nate Ewell, vice president of business communications and broadcasting for the Knights, confirmed the partnership did not move forward.
A spokesperson for Gov. Joe Lombardo declined to comment on the ethics complaint.
“Since this issue is working its way through the ethics process, we’re unable to offer comment right now,” Elizabeth Ray, director of communications for the governor’s office, wrote in an email. “When the process is resolved, we will certainly offer comment.”
Ross Armstrong, executive director of the ethics commission, said he could not comment on a pending case.
The soonest the matter could be heard would be in April, at the commission’s next meeting, he said. A scheduling order has yet to be issued.
“In general, public officers and employees should know that the Nevada Commission on Ethics has various resources such as our Ethics Manual, our opinions database, and the advisory opinion process to help guide them through any Ethics Law questions they may have,” he wrote in an email. “We also encourage public officials to consult with their agency counsel when presented with a potential gift.”
In October, the ethics commission required ethics training for Kelvin Watson, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, in connection with accepting free tickets to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas valued at $8,600. Training also was required for district staff. The commission considered the violation non-willful because Watson received approval from the library district’s attorney before taking the tickets.
At the same ethics commission meeting, one commissioner urged government officials not to accept tickets to the many sporting events in Las Vegas, saying that Watson had been given bad advice.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.
