Storey County will be holding an election in April to decide whether to recall its sheriff.
A petition to recall Sheriff Gerald Antinoro just got enough signatures to move forward.
The people leading the petition to force the recall say that Antinoro has misused his office, handled money irresponsibly, and violated codes of ethics.
"His behaviors have actually gotten worse over the past two years, and that's why we think enough is enough," Kris Thompson, spokesman for the recall committee said. "Antinoro needs to go, and he needs to go now."
Thompson points to a sexual harassment claim made against the sheriff as a main reason for the recall. Documents posted to the recall website show there was an investigation into that claim. That investigation found that text messages and conversations Antinoro had with a subordinate could constitute sexual harassment.
But Antinoro said that the whole situation was a misunderstanding.
He also said any allegations that he mishandled money aren't true.
"All of their allegations are smoke and mirrors," Antinoro said. "This is about people with money, people who think they have entitlements in Storey County, and they don't get it from me. Everyone gets the same deal."
The group pushing for the recall is backed and led by top managers at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC).
Thompson, who is the TRIC project manager, accused Antinoro of repeatedly going over budget. Antinoro denied that, and offered up his history of budgets as proof. An initial look at those budgets shows relatively stable totals since 2009, the last year under Antinoro's predecessor.
The recall election is set for April 11. If Storey County votes in favor of the recall, the county would appoint an interim sheriff to serve until the 2018 general election.
