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Nevada governor wants mansion back, wife out
Cathleen Allison / Nevada Appeal Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has gone to court to have his wife, Dawn Gibbons, right, evicted from the Governor's Mansion so he can move back in. The two are divorcing.
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More from NationalCARSON CITY, Nev. — The state that pioneered the quickie divorce is witnessing a potentially ugly breakup that has the governor of Nevada fighting to get back into his own mansion.
Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons filed for divorce last week after moving out of the 23-room official residence. With his wife, Dawn, now ensconced in the Governor's Mansion, he has gone to court to have her evicted.
Many Nevadans are fascinated by the whole spectacle.
"This isn't a tourist attraction, but it's certainly an attraction," said Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada.
A popular liberal blogger, Hugh Jackson of lasvegasgleaner.com, has gleefully declared, "Gibbons vs. Gibbons: Let's get ready to rumble!" and has taken the opportunity to re-post photos of Gibbons partying on a cruise with a crowd of women.
With a judge sealing most of the records Monday at the governor's request, the blogosphere is full of rumors about why Gibbons, 63, wants a divorce. His 54-year-old wife has said she has no idea why he wants to end their marriage of nearly 22 years.
The divorce case and the potential political fallout are the latest in a series of difficulties for the first-term governor, including a corruption investigation by the FBI, still under way, and claims by a Las Vegas cocktail waitress that he assaulted her just before his 2006 election.
Police last year said they found insufficient evidence to support the waitress's claim. But during the furor, Dawn Gibbons literally stood by her husband and resolutely defended him.
Gibbons moved out of the mansion sometime this year and returned to the couple's house about 25 miles away in Reno. He continues to conduct some official business at the mansion.
The move has raised questions about the governor's compliance with an 1866 state law that says a governor must "keep his office and reside at the seat of government."
Gibbons press secretary has described the move to Reno as a temporary situation and said there is no violation of the law.
Dawn Gibbons told the Las Vegas Review-Journal she didn't ask Gibbons to move out.
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