Roger leaves office early but hangs onto $300,000 just in case

Usually, when a politician decides to quit and not finish three years of a four-year term, that means he has chosen to end his political career, unless he’s running midterm for another office.

District Attorney David Roger isn’t running for another elected job. He’s quitting to spend more time with his family and, in the process, secure their financial future.

But when I asked Roger what he was going to do with the more than $300,000 he has in leftover campaign contributions, his answer surprised me: “I may run for another office down the road.”

The law allows him to keep the money for a future political office, and he mentioned a possible bid for a judgeship, so he’s keeping the money.

That seemed inconsistent for the man who said he was resigning to spend more time with his 1-year-old daughter, Holly Marie.

Frankly, I assumed Roger was leaving politics forever, especially because he never really enjoyed campaigning.

I think he would have trouble getting back into politics after failing to complete his third term. Most people who resign early don’t intend to go back, knowing the folks who elected them are upset they didn’t complete their contract with the voters. Donors aren’t too happy either.

Did the Republican know he was going to resign when he ran in 2010?

He told me Wednesday he had every intention of serving all four years. “When I ran, I bought one year and two months from PERS so I could retire at the end of this term.”

But when his first child was born four days after the election, the 50-year-old proud papa said, “The world changed for me.”

There was also something else. Roger is close to his parents, and his father died at 89 in July. “It kind of wears on me a little.”

That month, he bought enough service time from the Public Employees Retirement System so he could retire in January with full benefits after working 25 years and buying five years credit.

His mother has a brain tumor. When Roger said he was feeling his own mortality, it was the truth.

He’s doing what’s best for his family. If he takes a 30-hour-a-week job with the Las Vegas Police Protective Association close to his Summerlin home, “I can go home for lunch every day with my daughter.”

Although no contract has been signed, the PPA probably would pay him in excess of $150,000. Plus, he’ll have a $150,000 pension. And his wife, Las Vegas Municipal Judge Susan Roger, brings in another $151,000 salary.

Financially, the family will be much better off. Essentially, Roger might be getting a $100,000 raise for less demanding work, even more if he decides to be “of counsel” with another law firm and bring in clients, another possibility.

His friend, attorney Gary Logan, believes Roger will be bored representing the police union.

“You don’t have the power. You don’t have the prestige. You’re working for a labor union that represents police officers,” Logan said.

Logan has known Roger since he was a teenager washing golf clubs at the Las Vegas Country Club. Logan encouraged the teen to go to law school and then work at the district attorney’s office. He urged him to run for district attorney in 2002 and helped raise money for Roger.

Logan believes Roger should have finished his term and, if the Republicans take the White House, he could have sought the U.S. attorney’s job.

Roger said his wife will kill him for saying this, but he would be interested in the U.S. attorney’s job. He certainly has been openly critical of the job done by U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden. Leaving his elected job early might not be such a negative for that appointed position.

Fellow Republicans are disappointed Roger is not only leaving, but leaving the decision of who replaces him in the hands of seven Democratic county commissioners.

As one wag quipped, “Doesn’t Harry Reid have a son that needs a job?”

“It troubled me that I’m turning over my office to seven county commissioners, but that’s how the Legislature decided the process to fill the vacancy,” Roger said.

Will voters blame him or the commissioners if his successor isn’t capable?

“They could say: ‘We thought Roger was mediocre, but he was awesome,’ ” Roger said, laughing.

Will he be bored?

“I enjoy the adrenaline rush I get most days when I come to work, and I work with Metro intelligence in cases, which is mentally stimulating. If the PPA hires me, I’ll still be working with cops, which is what I like.”

Campaign finance documents show that when he ran in 2010, he raised $794,885 and spent $555,892, showing an excess of $239,000. But because Nevada’s notoriously evasive campaign reports don’t require candidates to list cumulative figures, I’ll take Roger at this word that in his three campaigns he has ended up with more than $300,000 left over.

If he doesn’t run again, the excess campaign money won’t become Holly’s college fund. The law doesn’t allow personal use. His options include donating it to charities, candidates or political groups, even giving it back to donors. The law doesn’t specify how long a candidate can hold onto the money in anticipation of another race.

I doubt that Roger will end up using it for another race. But maybe I’m wrong. And yes, add me to the list of people disappointed he didn’t finish his term.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison