Trial set for December in Gibbonses divorce

RENO - The pending divorce between Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and the state's first lady is headed for a courtroom after hours-long settlement talks failed Wednesday and a judge set a trial date for Dec. 28.

The two sides have been arguing over the governor's assertions that his estranged wife is trying to destroy his political career, and Dawn Gibbons' claims that he's conspired to keep her from getting a job.

Jim Gibbons, a Republican, is up for re-election next fall.

The governor filed for divorce in May 2008. Dawn Gibbons has accused her husband of having affairs with two married Reno women - allegations he denies.

No Nevada governor has ever been divorced while in office.

Lawyers for both sides met in a closed courtroom in Reno throughout the morning and early afternoon Wednesday.

"There's no settlement," said Cal Dunlap, Dawn Gibbons' lawyer, as he left the courtroom. "We're going to trial."

Gary Silverman, a Reno lawyer representing the governor in the divorce case, declined comment. The governor also refused to comment as he left the court, and the first lady would only say that she believed her lawyer was doing a good job.

A new settlement offer filed by Silverman said the governor has offered to pay $2,000 in monthly alimony.

Gibbons also offered to give her the couple's Reno home, which has a net value of $722,000. In exchange, the governor would maintain ownership of ranch land in Nevada's Elko County that the couple bought in 2007 for $575,000.

Dawn Gibbons aims to humiliate her husband by dragging out the divorce into next year's election campaign, Silverman said in the filing.

The governor has fought throughout the proceedings to keep most court filings sealed.

Recent polls have shown Gibbons' voter approval rating in the low teens. He already has two GOP primary challengers, former U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval and former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon.

Rory Reid, a Clark County commissioner and the son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, formally launched a bid for the Democratic nomination on Wednesday.

Silverman said in the new filing that Dawn Gibbons wants to remain married until her husband completes his term as governor to save on rent and to continue to live in an apartment adjacent to the governor's mansion.

However, Silverman said the governor doesn't want to remain married to Dawn Gibbons until 2011, much less 2015. Silverman was referring to Gibbons' possible re-election next year, which would keep him in the governor's mansion an additional four years.

Gibbons also opposes her proposal to sell the Elko County property in Lamoille Canyon because it has been his lifelong dream to build a modest home there and retire, Silverman said.

Dunlap said in a filing on behalf of the first lady that the governor owes his political success to his wife, a former state assemblywoman and small business owner who lost in a GOP primary to succeed her husband in Congress in 2006.

Dunlap said no divorce should be granted until both sides agree on the value of the Reno home and the northeast Nevada ranch land. He accused the governor of hiding assets and securing a "secret" loan to prepare for his retirement without his wife.

"After 25 years of pursuing his goal relying extensively on the skills, popularity and hard work of his wife, almost immediately after reaching his goal - the governorship of the state - plaintiff Gibbons began his clandestine plan to acquire his retirement nest and to shed his wife," Dunlap wrote.

"Apparently not satisfied with selfishly ruining his wife's past and present by humiliating her, (and) probably to bolster his own sagging popularity and image, has taken to blaming her and to trashing her stellar reputation with the very people who might employ her and/or might help her obtain employment," he said.