New committee plans to challenge Adelson ads

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

His television commercials that portray Clark County commissioners as squanders and cheaters who put the county in debt sent a blatant message to Southern Nevada voters.

Now the newly formed Committee for Common Decency has a message for Las Vegas Sands Inc. chair Sheldon Adelson: Outraged people have money, too.

The two-week old group, which is supported by the Culinary Union, has collected about a half-million dollars from people tired of Adelson's antics, said Dan Hart, spokesman for the committee.

Beginning Friday, the committee will air its own commercials that let viewers know commission candidates Steve Harney, Milt Doyle and Mark Smith have received major contributions from Adelson's companies.

"This is his campaign to buy his three commission seats," Hart said. "It's a campaign about electing them. As far as we're concerned, if you defeat someone, you are electing someone else."

While Adelson's group, Committee for Fairness, poured almost $2 million into commercials, radio spots and mailed fliers, Hart said his organization won't spend nearly as much money.

Instead, he claimed, the Common Decency commercials will be more effective.

"It's our belief that with our message and the frequency that the commercials will be on TV, we will be competitive with him," Hart said.

Union members are involved in Committee for Common Decency -- which was created solely to battle Adelson -- but they also are initiating their own assault on the anti-union casino executive.

Glen Arnodo, political action director for local culinary workers, said union officials have visited the homes of 40,000 union members and families.

"It's outrageous one man has the ability to buy an election," Arnodo said. "The idea that an anti-union billionaire can take over politics in Southern Nevada does not go over well. It's unprecedented. I have never seen anything like it."

Scurrying to get the upper hand with only two weeks remaining before Election Day, the union is disseminating fliers encouraging people to vote for Democrats Myrna Williams, Erin Kenny and Dario Herrera. Herrera is battling Doyle for the District G seat vacated by Lorraine Hunt.

The fliers show a picture of Adelson and says he believes he owns the sidewalks at the Venetian.

"If his hand-picked candidates are elected to the County Commission, he will (own the sidewalks)," the flier says. "Send Sheldon Adelson a message. Tell him the sidewalks belong to the people."

The privatized sidewalk issue was first raised in 1995 when union members were arrested for protesting in front of the MGM Grand.

Clark County commissioners had allowed the MGM Grand to take ownership of the sidewalks and after the arrests, union members took the case to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Commissioners have never again allowed the privatization of sidewalks, saying it can restrict the walkway's use as a public forum for protests and demonstrations.

Adelson has been fighting with the culinary union for years, and he hasn't indicated whether the $1.8 billion Venetian hotel-casino will allow its staff to join the union.

Adelson has donated to commissioners' campaigns before; he gave Commissioner Lance Malone about $94,000.

When he made the unprecedented move of dumping millions of dollars into a campaign in which he is not directly involved, union officials and the new Common Decency committee felt obligated to strike back with another unprecedented move.

"He really has made himself the issue for union families in Southern Nevada," Arnodo said. "We intend to capitalize on that."

Williams said as she walked door to door Wednesday that people have indicated they don't like one person trying to buy the commission.

"I think a lot of people in Las Vegas have grave concerns about what's going on," Williams said. "Finally, someone has said enough is enough."