PAC sues councilman, three others

Bill Gang and Erin Neff

Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 11:41 a.m.

The Big Elephant Club has filed a defamation lawsuit alleging City Councilman Michael McDonald and three other men authored an "offensive brochure" against City Council candidate Steve Miller and blamed it on the political action committee.

The brochure, mailed to Ward 1 voters just before the May 4 primary election, resulted in Miller filing a lawsuit against the Big Elephant Club and its chairman, George Harris.

Tuesday's lawsuit, filed through attorney Charles Bennion, alleges that statements made by McDonald and others blaming the Big Elephant Club for the brochure were "fraudulently and maliciously intended to injure the reputation and credibility" of the conservative PAC.

But McDonald, who claims this latest legal wrangling defames his reputation, plans to countersue.

"I'll sue George Harris, the Big Elephant Club, whoever is behind this," McDonald said Wednesday. "I'll countersue for $2 million if I have to."

In addition to McDonald, Big Elephant's lawsuit names James Reginald Tucker, Larry Scheffler, Kelly Sullivan, Passkey Systems, Las Vegas Color Graphics Inc. and Paladin Advertising.

Statements linking the PAC with the brochure exposed the Big Elephant Club to "public hatred, contempt and ridicule," the lawsuit said.

The legal action charges the misrepresentation "was conduct calculated to deceive the readers of the brochure."

Harris and the Big Elephant Club are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages plus compensation for whatever it will cost to resolve the lawsuit filed by Miller.

Miller, meanwhile, has considered removing Big Elephant Club as a defendant from his original lawsuit and pondered adding McDonald and his political consultant Ken Oram.

On Tuesday, Miller announced he didn't have enough concrete evidence to link McDonald or Oram to the mailer and would not list them as defendants.

Miller has amended his libel lawsuit against Big Elephant to include Sullivan of Paladin Advertising and Steve Westmoreland.

His lawsuit alleges that Paladin paid Passkey $2,956 to mail the brochure and that Westmoreland's business address is the same address listed as the client on an invoice who ordered Las Vegas Color Graphics print the brochures.

The fliers struck a nerve with Miller when they hit 21,500 mailboxes in Ward 1 just days before the May 4 primary election because of a statement about Miller's involvement with a local non-profit agency.

The mailer stated: "Steve Miller even became the first person ever removed from the Opportunity Village Board of Directors. Miller was found to be exploiting the handicapped to advance his campaign."

Miller was elected president of the Opportunity Village board in 1985. He resigned from his post in October 1986 to run for City Council. He said he resigned to avoid being in conflict with the organization's bylaws.