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Revised: Thursday, July 24, 2025
Nevada Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony publicly condemned welfare recipients for relying on government assistance, yet records show he collected a taxpayer-funded pension exceeding $210,000 last year and billed the state $3,300 for personal vehicle expenses during his first six months in office. The contradiction has ignited fresh scrutiny as Anthony runs for a second term in 2025, with new campaign finance disclosures and an ethics complaint deepening the divide between his rhetoric and personal finances.
In a July 16, 2025 interview with Fox News, Anthony recounted being raised by immigrant parents from Cyprus who taught him never to “ask the government for anything.” He specifically criticized unemployment checks and food stamps, adding, "I am here to support Nevadans in ways that they want support, but I’m not here to carry them. They need to carry themselves."
Yet public data from Transparent Nevada, a nonprofit that tracks state official compensation, reveals Anthony received $210,115 in pension payments from the state in 2024—all funded by taxpayers. Additionally, the Nevada Independent reported that between his inauguration in January 2023 and June 2023, Anthony charged $3,300 in personal vehicle expenses to public funds, the highest single-year total for such expenditures since record‑keeping began 15 years ago.
This is not the first time the lieutenant governor has faced accusations of double standards. In early 2025, a formal ethics complaint was filed by fellow Republican and former state party official, alleging that Anthony allowed public employees to campaign for GOP candidates during business hours—a potential violation of Nevada’s law prohibiting government workers from engaging in political activities on the job. The complaint was still under review by the Nevada Commission on Ethics as of July.
Anthony’s reelection campaign has already raised more than $450,000, according to filings with the Nevada Secretary of State, while his Democratic opponent, state Representative Sandra Jauregui, has gathered $620,000. Jauregui has seized on the revelations, calling Anthony “out of touch” and arguing that his actions reveal a pattern of entitlement rather than the self‑reliance he preaches.
Political analysts note that Anthony’s comments came at a time when Nevada’s welfare caseload has dropped by 12% since 2022, even as housing costs and inflation remain high. Critics say the lieutenant governor’s critique ignores structural poverty and overlooks the fact that many welfare recipients are working families.
When asked for comment, Anthony’s office did not respond directly to the pension or car expenses, but a spokesperson reiterated that the lieutenant governor “strongly believes in personal responsibility and limited government.” However, ethics experts point out that drawing a taxpayer‑funded pension while denouncing government support is a textbook case of hypocrisy.
“The problem isn’t taking the pension—it’s the rhetoric that welfare recipients are morally inferior for taking help, while he himself benefits from the same public purse,” said Dr. Elaine Torres, a political ethics professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “If you’re going to lecture people about not asking the government for anything, you should at least decline your own taxpayer‑funded benefits.”
The controversy has also reignited debate over Nevada’s vehicle expense reimbursement policies. State law allows elected officials to claim mileage for travel between home and work, but Anthony’s filings show he claimed 12,000 miles in the first six months—far above the norm. The Nevada Independent previously noted that no other lieutenant governor or statewide official had ever claimed such high amounts.
As the 2026 general election approaches—Nevada holds its next gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial elections in 2026, though the current cycle focuses on state legislative races—Anthony’s character and consistency are likely to remain central themes. Jauregui’s campaign has already launched a digital ad highlighting the pension‑car expense disparity, and independent expenditure groups are expected to weigh in.
For now, the lieutenant governor continues to receive his pension and the salary of his office—$86,000 annually—while maintaining that government assistance should be rare and temporary. His critics argue that if he truly believed in carrying himself, he would return the pension to the state’s retirement fund.
The story is a stark reminder of the gap between political rhetoric and personal conduct, one that may define the rest of his tenure and influence voter turnout in a state where economic anxiety remains high.
