Stavros Anthony criticized government handouts while billing taxpayers for car expenses

Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony demeaned Nevada welfare recipients for taking handouts as he collected a pension and billed taxpayers for his car expenses.

Anthony told Fox News on July 16 that his parents, who immigrated from Cyprus, taught him to not “ask the government for anything.”

“You don’t ask them for unemployment checks, you don’t ask them for food stamps …” Anthony said. “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.”

Anthony, meanwhile, is being carried by Nevadans. Transparent Nevada, which publishes salary and pension data for state officials, reports that Anthony received $210,115 in taxpayer funded pension payments last year.

Anthony was elected lieutenant governor in 2022. During his first six months in office, he spent $3,300 in public funds on personal vehicle expenses. The Nevada Independent reported that this was the largest single-year total for such expenditures since the data began being tracked 15 years ago.

This is not the only time Anthony has been accused of ethically questionable behavior. Earlier this year, he was the subject of an ethics complaint alleging that he permitted public employees to campaign for GOP candidates during state business hours. Nevada law prohibits government employees from using their positions for political purposes. The complaint was filed by a fellow Republican.

Anthony is running for a second term this year. His Democratic opponent is state Rep. Sandra Jauregui.