McDonald plan filled with risks

Monday, Sept. 27, 1999 | 11:58 a.m.

Like most politicians, Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald isn't regarded as a major risk-taker.

But many political experts now believe he's playing Russian roulette with his career by pushing to deconsolidate Metro.

"It's one of the strangest political plans I've ever seen," veteran strategist Don Williams said. "He's giving up more politically than he can ever gain."

Williams, a supporter of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who has allowed McDonald to drag the mayor into this high-risk game, says the two-term councilman could end up with "everybody in town after his ass."

Too many people of influence are opposed to deconsolidation, leading some to conclude the plan has no chance of being put into action.

The opposition is being led by Sheriff Jerry Keller, who possibly aside from the citizens of Southern Nevada, may have the most to lose by a breakup of the much-heralded police department.

Keller normally keeps a low profile with the media, but in the past two weeks he has been very accessible. He also has rallied labor unions, casino bosses, elected officials and business leaders to his side.

"It's bad government," he said. "The one thing it's good for is the criminals."

Talk of the breakup comes while Keller's popularity is at an all-time high and a recent audit commissioned by the city heaped praise on the sheriff for the way the department is being run.

Keller, long at odds with McDonald, has put out a fact sheet that attacks the former police officer's claim that a much-hyped study will show the city can save $15 million by creating its own police department.

Others publicly have stood behind the sheriff.

Former Gov. Bob Miller called the deconsolidation plan "one of the dumbest ideas" he's ever heard in his 25-year career of public service.

And police union boss Andy Anderson put up $25,000 to wage a public advertising campaign against deconsolidation.

On the Strip, casino executives have been flooding Keller with phone calls pledging their support.

"This is insane," one casino industry insider said. "It makes no sense to rip apart an organization like this. It smacks a little bit of a Napolean complex."

Top Keller political consultants Billy Vassiliadis, who lobbies for the gaming industry and Kent Oram, who helped elect Goodman, also have come out against McDonald's plan.

Oram said he's "going to the wall" for Keller.

But another well-connected consultant, Sig Rogich, remains mum on the subject.

Rogich, the top strategist for McDonald, it turns out, has been walking a political tightrope.

Though close to McDonald, Rogich also enjoys good relations with Keller and casino industry leaders backing the sheriff.

And Rogich's biggest political client, Gov. Kenny Guinn, is urging city officials to act cautiously when considering any move to dismantle Metro.

Guinn, telephoned in Carson City last week by both Keller and McDonald, has refused to take up sides.

"I would hope that everybody could stand a good study," said Guinn, who once headed the Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee.

That's exactly what Clark County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury has proposed in a letter to Goodman.

If a study is needed, Woodbury wants the city and county to fund an "unbiased" one that will give Southern Nevadans a true picture of the ramifications of breaking up a police department that isn't broken.

A City Hall study, expected to be released this week, would seem to have a credibility problem. It has been overseen by Mike Sheldon, the city's chief public safety officer who is being eyed by McDonald as the future police chief.

McDonald, meanwhile, appeared to back track amid the surge of public outrage last week.

He went on television trying to deflect some of the criticism to Goodman, whom he said started it all by requesting a financial review of city departments.

Goodman, however, denied asking for a consolidation study, putting the two most influential people at City Hall in direct conflict.

To his critics, Goodman did not appear to handle the controversy very well, putting himself at risk for political fallout.

Some people still haven't forgotten that Goodman was a criminal defense lawyer who represented mobsters before he was elected mayor.

This week, Goodman continues to attract national attention, as "60 Minutes," begins putting the finishing touches on an updated profile of him.

Many believe the mayor -- and the city -- can't afford to be linked to a plan to break up an efficiently run police department.

It's leading to the inescapable conclusion that McDonald isn't the only one playing Russian Roulette with his political career.

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