Jones exonerated in ethics probe

Denise Cardinal

Friday, May 15, 1998 | 11:52 a.m.

Coming as close to the line as she could without stepping over it, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones has been exonerated of ethics charges stemming from the hiring of Deputy City Manager Ann Holland.

Jones went before the Nevada Commission on Ethics Thursday for a public hearing on a complaint filed by Las Vegas resident Robert Rose. He alleged that Jones used her influence as mayor to get Holland hired at the city.

Holland, formerly senior vice president of operations for the Stratosphere hotel-casino, was hired in February as a third deputy city manager -- a position that previously didn't exist. At the Stratosphere, Holland worked for Jones' husband Richard Schuetz. Jones suggested Holland for the position, and didn't recuse herself from voting for her hiring.

The commission voted 3-1 that Jones didn't violate any ethics laws as outlined in Nevada Statute.

"This is as close to the line as you can get without stepping over it," said Ethics Commission Chairwoman Mary Boetsch to Jones. "It's not a good political thing to do. You can understand why people might wonder what's going on."

The dissenting vote was cast by Joni Wines, who said that as a manager she had never heard of hiring the first person that came along.

"I just feel that she (Jones) should have disclosed her relationship," Wines said. "It all just happened too quickly. I believe she (Ann) was hired long before she had the interviews."

During the course of testimony, some interesting facts surrounding Holland's hiring and the retiring of City Manager Larry Barton came to light.

Under oath, Barton testified that he was told by City Councilman Michael McDonald that he should resign -- a conversation that led to his retirement announcement last December. At that time, Barton and Jones publicly denied that his leaving was a result of bad blood between him and the council. Thursday's testimony told a different story.

"Sometimes you have rough spots in the relationship with your boss," Barton said. "(At that time) I had been having rough spots with my bosses for about six months."

Soon after Barton announced his retirement, Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer, which slowed down the search for his replacement. She asked him to stay on as city manager until a new one could be found.

Meanwhile, both Jones and Barton testified, Deputy City Manager Lynn Macy was having some problems of her own in getting along with council members.

"There was a lot of turmoil," Jones said.

So the third deputy city manager position was discussed as a way to move Macy into another role that didn't involve day-to-day operations. Both Jones and Barton said that her talents weren't best used in her current position.

Rather than go to an outside search for a third deputy, Jones suggested Holland, who had recently left the Stratosphere because of philosophical differences with the owners. Barton took Jones suggestion, and set up an interview. Holland also was interviewed by all of the council members before Barton made his decision, which was unanimously ratified by the City Council.

Though the testimony at the hearing usually remained focused on the charges, at times Jones had to defend her hiring philosophy to the board.

"I believe that management skills from the private sector can be transferred to the public sector," Jones said, defending the decision to hire Holland despite her lack of government experience.

"Do you think ALL people that are successful in the private sector can do well in government?" Boetsch asked.

"I think management skills are transferrable," Jones said.

Jones was happy with the commission's decision.

"I think it was the right one," she said. "There is a perception problem, but I believe we hired the right person. We needed those slots filled in the interim and we had no idea how long the city manager position would be open."

Even Robert Rose, the citizen who filed the complaint against Jones, said he was happy with the decision.

"I think it was marvelous," he said. "It brought to light the truth. I think Jones realizes now that she might have made a mistake, but I didn't want there to be any penalty."