Former coroner and deputy attorney general vie for public administrator job

The race for Clark County Public Administrator features Stephanie Itkin-Goodman (no relation to former Las Vegas mayors Oscar and Carolyn) who won the Democratic primary with 65% of the vote, and Patrick Michael Murphy, who garnered 66% on the Republican side. 

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The public administrator secures the assets of deceased Southern Nevadans when there’s no will and no one has been designated to administer the estate. They search for relatives and for property, and may ultimately distribute it through court proceedings.

Itkin-Goodman, a newcomer to Nevada, previously served for just under two years in a New York City district attorney’s office and also worked in private practice.

She’s currently a deputy attorney general where she advises a variety of regulatory boards, including the Private Investigator’s Licensing Board, which also regulates armed security guards.

The board came under fire this summer at a legislative commission meeting when it proposed a regulation requiring eight hours of training for security guards who carry rifles and shotguns. 

Nevada law does not allow security guards to carry rifles or shotguns, lawmakers observed. 

“We need to find out who your DAG (deputy attorney general) is,” Sen. Rochelle Nguyen told the board’s executive director. 

Itkin-Goodman did not respond to the Current when asked whether she reviewed the proposed regulation before asking lawmakers to approve it. She later deferred to the executive director, noting she can only provide legal advice, but not require that the PILB accept it. 

“I think she’s new to the position,” said Murphy, her opponent, adding everyone should have a chance to “get up to speed. But it seems like publicly she’s kind of punted. The worst thing you can do is not make a decision. That’s what causes a lot of problems in organizations.”

Murphy served as Clark County coroner, an appointed position, from 2002 to 2015. His office was the inspiration for CSI, a popular network television program based in Las Vegas.   

He has become known as Clark County’s fix-it guy, stepping in to assume leadership of several agencies “that were either having trouble or where they needed a little extra assistance,” such as the Clark County Division of Juvenile Justice, which he ran while serving as coroner. 

He says he’s marketing his name and reputation in his bid for election. 

“I know the people in Henderson and North Las Vegas, and in Laughlin and Overton, so I don’t have to start from scratch,” he says. “I have a good reputation for getting the work done.”

From 2008 through 2015, budget cuts prompted the coroner’s office to perform duties of the public administrator on overnight cases.

“If I hadn’t been coroner, I wouldn’t know anything about running the public administrator’s office,” he said. He also served as Clark County’s legislative lobbyist in 2013 and 2015. 

Murphy moved to Southern Nevada in 1980 and went to work for the Boulder City Police Department. A decade later he was hired as Mesquite’s Chief of Police. He later went to work for City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement. 

After retiring in 2015, he worked for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in Washington, D.C. before being called back to take over when the coroner took early retirement during COVID in 2020.

In 2022, Clark County hired Murphy to restore order in the Public Administrator’s office, where then-Public Administrator Rob Telles was embroiled in scandal. Months later, Telles murdered reporter Jeff German, who was investigating allegations of wrongdoing by Telles. 

“I want the opportunity to go there and finish what I started,” Murphy said. He has never run for office, and says he’s surprised by the lack of prerequisites for candidates. “If you can plunk down $105, you’re in.” 

He’s been around long enough to know that voters, confronted with down-ballot races such as public administrator, often default to casting a vote in favor of party affiliation.

“The vast majority of people don’t even know what the office does. We absolutely want you to exercise your right to vote,” he says, adding the office should be nonpartisan, or better yet, appointed. “If you don’t know the candidates, don’t just vote for the party, because you might end up with some wild card.”  

Itkin-Goodman also says she doesn’t consider the public administrator to be a political role, and would support changing the law to allow county commissions in large counties, such as Clark and Washoe, to appoint the position.

Itkin-Goodman notes that she brings legal experience to the job and that she has spent her career “navigating complex legal matters, protecting vulnerable individuals, and ensuring accountability. The Public Administrator’s Office needs independent leadership, and my legal qualifications and commitment to transparency and accountability make me the best choice.”

Murphy notes that he ran the coroner’s office for 14 years without a medical degree. “You want your medical doctor doing medical work. You need the chief executive officer to be someone who has a background in business and ability to lead.” 

Both candidates say that if elected, they’ll increase outreach to the community in an effort to reduce the number of people who die without a will. 

Murphy says he’d like to have investigators fitted with bodycams and the ability to barcode, or “bag and tag” inventory in the field. 

A recent case turned up close to $200,000 in cash and hundreds of weapons – a scenario that frequently raises questions about integrity. “We need policies to protect beneficiaries and heirs, as well as employees.” 

Itkin-Goodman raised $41,000 as of Oct. 15 and has roughly $13,000 on hand.

She has a number of endorsements, including Culinary Local 226, SEIU Nevada, IATSE 720, Southern Nevada Building Trades Union, National Organization for Women (NOW), Make the Road, and PLAN Action.

Murphy has raised close to $87,000  and has roughly $26,000 in the bank as of Oct. 15. 

He is endorsed by more than a dozen law enforcement associations including the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, Clark County Firefighters, Juvenile Justice Probation Officers, several veterans organizations, and Ironworkers Local 433.