Editorial: Assemblyman should pick his battles

Saturday, Aug. 2, 1997 | 5:09 a.m.

Whenever Williams sees a moving shadow, he complains that some predatory enemy is about to eat him up.

In May, Williams claimed that four members of the state Board of Education plotted at a Carson City Taco Bell to pull his teacher's license.

Williams, who chairs the Education Committee, doesn't teach anymore, but he keeps his license anyway. The attorney general is investigating.

Now Williams is saying that city of Las Vegas lobbyists Cathy Hanson and Matthew Callister threatened him during the legislative session. Hanson is director of communications for Mayor Jan Laverty Jones; Callister is a former city councilman.

Williams, a $59,000-a-year city management analyst, claims Hanson and Callister told him that the city would fire him if he supported legislation they opposed. He voted against the city, which is to say he voted against his bosses.

Callister denies ever threatening Williams, and Hanson, who's on vacation, has been unavailable for comment.

Williams hasn't called for an investigation in the city case, but he has talked to reporters as he seems to do every time he feels threatened. More than a few people who otherwise respect Williams wonder why he goes pubic with these complaints. Theories abound.

Some officials, for instance, use the media to protect their job security. If you think your job's in jeopardy for whatever reason, and you have access to reporters, wouldn't it be smart to say there's a conspiracy to fire you?

Nobody's alleging that Williams is using that tactic, and indications are that there may be some truth to his complaints, but a history of questionable conduct raises questions. Every session, Williams is at the center of controversy.

At look at 1995 headlines reveals that Williams was criticized for leading the Legislature in absenteeism and that he filed his campaign report almost two months late. He also blasted another Democrat for the way he ran his committee, and he complained to legislative police that a Board of Education member threatened him.

This year, he was in the news after his ex-wife sued for child support. A judge ordered Williams to pay $51,921.

Maybe controversy is good for a politician. Perhaps Williams is like a heat-seeking missile in that he aims for the hots spots because that's where those in power mix it up and voters want him at the center of the action. Or maybe he's just a magnet for trouble.

Either way, Williams would be wise to pick his fights. If he doesn't, nobody will listen when serious trouble comes, as the kid in the fable learned.

And that's when elected officials turn into the most dangerous of political animals: a wolf in wolf's clothing.