An analysis of public records by the Reno Gazette-Journal shows that state Senator Patricia Spearman paid nearly $103,000 in campaign funds to a consulting firm with close ties to her sister.
State campaign finance reports show Donna Spearman-Davis and Crawford Management Group received about thirty percent of all campaign spending by Senator Spearman between 2012 and 2018.
The payments could be in violation of state law if they are found to exceed the fair-market value normally paid for such services. But Nevada law only requires candidates to self-report the broad purposes of campaign spending, and those reports are not independently audited.
Senator Spearman declined comment to the Gazette-Journal about her sister’s role in her campaigns. State election disclosures indicate that Spearman’s sister had no other campaign clients.