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Knappster: Skullduggery in Ward 1

By George Knapp

Initially, you might be tempted to say that Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald had it coming. Who cares if unknown parties are playing fast and loose with election laws? McDonald's myriad ethics problems should preclude him from griping about someone else dishing him out a taste of his own ethical medicine, right? Could it be that city voters are so bummed by McDonald's baggage that they will sanction any tactics, no matter how sleazy, in order to get rid of him?

As many readers already know, a massive complaint alleging illegal campaign activities in the Ward 1 council race is now in the hands of Nevada's secretary of state. McDonald contends he was the victim of a sneaky conspiracy involving one or more of his primary election opponents. But the real story may be whether other unnamed people are pulling strings behind the scenes.

Put it this way: It seems unlikely that political neophyte Janet Moncrief, a registered nurse, could think up some of this stuff on her own. The other person on the primary ballot, Chris Christoff, admits he conveniently glossed over several election rules, but denies being in league with Moncrief. Few knowledgeable politicos think Christoff, a volatile gadfly with minimal election experience, has the savvy or resources to have done these things on his own. So who else is involved, and will the secretary of state be able to ferret out the real puppet masters? As a colleague of mine asked this week, will the voters even care?

Moncrief and Christoff both insist they had nothing to do with the numerous anonymous mailers that were sent out during the primary campaign, mailers that thoroughly reamed McDonald and which probably cost tens of thousands of dollars to distribute. After being nailed by journalists, Christoff reluctantly admitted that at least one of the anonymous pieces was his, although he failed to include the expense in his campaign report. (He plans to put it in his next report, he says.)

Former Councilman Steve Miller, who lost to McDonald the last time around, chimed in to say that McDonald has no room to complain since the McDonald campaign was accused of sending out its own anonymous mailer in 1999. (The accusation, filed by Miller himself in a lawsuit, went nowhere.) Could Miller be involved with any of the sneaky stuff in the current campaign? He certainly makes no secret of his disdain for McDonald. Miller's website contains blistering info about McDonald, and his most recent daily e-mail barrage went after McDonald's campaign manager, Jim Ferrence, following a Ferrence appearance on Jon Ralston's talk show. Miller stated that Ferrence is "a moron" and implied that he is mentally retarded, a nasty thing to say, even by Miller's standards. (Miller's missive said much the same about Mayor Oscar Goodman, which reportedly has the mayor steaming mad.) There's no question that Miller hates McDonald, and has tried to inject himself into the campaign, but phony mailers don't seem to be his style.

The formal complaint contains too many issues to evaluate here, so let's focus on one. Someone sent out a slick, multicolored mail piece, a first-rate campaign flier, which purported to be from a nonexistent organization called Republicans for Good Government. The piece relied on photos and graphics pilfered from McDonald's own campaign literature and it admonished Republican voters to get out and support McDonald so he could put an end to "union domination of local politics." It appears the mailer was sent only to Democrats, who traditionally are more pro-union than Republicans and who were likely ticked off that McDonald appeared to be conspiring to gut the unions.

This is damned clever stuff, downright Machiavellian. Of course, the mailer left out any mention of McDonald earning the endorsements of every major union in town. It arrived in mailboxes at the very end of the campaign, too late for McDonald to respond. This wasn't the work of political rookies. Somewhere, at some level, there is a polished political professional involved in this. What's more, the mailer cost a bundle of money. Who paid for it? Neither Moncrief nor Christoff had the money to do it, at least according to their meager campaign finance reports, and no one else has fessed up. So who did it? Find the answer to that question and you'll find out who is calling the shots in this race.

According to sworn affidavits obtained from two otherwise-uninvolved local residents, Chris Christoff confided he was only in the race as a stalking horse, a hammer to whack away at McDonald, for the ultimate benefit of Moncrief. Tellingly, if you look at the material Christoff acknowledges as his own, he never gave voters a single reason to vote for him. Every word of his material was an attack on McDonald. One might conclude that Christoff wasn't really trying to get votes for himself, but was certainly trying to convince people to vote against McDonald. Who benefits from such a strategy?

Thus far, the response from Moncrief to these allegations has come in the form of a faxed statement and brief comments on the phone. At the time of this writing, she has dodged most requests for face-to-face interviews. It would seem that a political newcomer who is running on a platform of better ethics and good government would be more interested in clearing the air and in defending her once-pristine reputation. Maybe she's camera-shy. (She did show up for a one TV interview, but the softball questioning might as well have been a paid political ad.)

Eventually, Moncrief will have to provide a sworn statement to investigators about these curious campaign issues. Hopefully, the public will hear her answers before the general election. One possible line of questioning could focus on her relationship (or lack thereof) with casino maverick and would-be politician Bob Stupak. If it's true that the rascally Stupak isn't supporting her at all, as she once stated on television, then perhaps Moncrief has no reason to duck the TV cameras. Maybe some kindly "Phantom of the Elections," a totally uninvolved specter of the ballot box, has decided to influence and manipulate this race, presumably for purely benevolent reasons. And maybe not.

Although Knappster has no crystal ball, a fuzzy, psychic image keeps popping up in this cluttered brain of mine. It looks like...a place, a warm place, but I can't quite make it out. It looks breezy, almost tropical. Is it...Aruba? Gosh, what relevance could Aruba have to any of this? We shall see.

Political notes

State Sen. Dina Titus must be glad to see standing-room-only on the Save Red Rock Bandwagon. Titus was undoubtedly pleased to read that Nevada's U.S. senators will try to find money to help purchase environmentally sensitive land near Red Rock Canyon and thus prevent it from being developed. But Titus points out that there is still a need for her bill, because only her bill stops the development in its tracks. Without its passage, there is no incentive for the developer to go ahead and sell his land to the feds, she argues. ... Say, is it true that a Southern Nevada elected official has been making inquiries to major gaming properties about landing a job? And if so, wouldn't it be inappropriate for an official who has influence over gaming regulation to pressure casinos for a cushy position? ... A follow-up to the McDonald story: At least a few local labor leaders are steaming about the phony mailer mentioned above. The mystery mail piece may end up providing new motivation for the powerful Culinary Union to get involved in the Ward 1 race in a big way. ... Some interesting names have surfaced as possible challengers to County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, should Gates decide to seek re-election. No one is anxious to have their names out there yet, but perhaps soon. ... As if the Regional Justice Center construction project isn't troubled enough--get ready for more bad news. Don't be surprised to hear that the oft-delayed, overbudget project shuts down completely in the near future, long before it is finished.