Kathy Augustine, 50; Nevada Controller Was Impeached
Kathy Augustine, 50, the Nevada controller who was the state’s first official to be impeached, died Tuesday at Washoe Medical Center in Reno after suffering a massive heart attack Saturday at her Reno home.
Her husband, Chaz Higgs, blamed stress from the 2004 impeachment and her current campaign for state treasurer for contributing to her death.
The Nevada Assembly impeached Augustine for using state-owned equipment to run her 2002 reelection campaign. The state Senate censured her but did not remove her from office. She admitted violating state ethics laws and paid a $15,000 fine.
“The only thing I can say is she was a fighter,” Higgs said. “She felt she didn’t do anything wrong.”
As a Republican state senator from Las Vegas, Augustine first ran for state controller in 1998 and became the first woman to hold the job. She had also served in the Assembly.
Born in 1956 in Los Angeles, Augustine earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Occidental College and a master’s in public administration from Cal State Long Beach. Before entering politics, she taught math and English in Las Vegas.
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