Casino vote lands Malone on hot seat

Adrienne Packer

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000 | 8:39 a.m.

Lance Malone wanted a park in his neighborhood.

So four years ago, Malone ditched his Metro Police motorcycle and tucked away his knee-high leather boots to battle politically entrenched Paul Christensen for a Clark County Commission seat.

Malone hoofed it through northwest Las Vegas neighborhoods, introducing himself to seniors in the Sun City retirement community and to middle-class families settling into the fastest-growing region of the Las Vegas Valley.

The 34-year-old Malone was backed by the Police Protective Association. He also received generous donations from one of the most controversial figures in town -- Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands.

The clean-cut cop had one goal: He and his wife were about to start a family and like his neighbors, Malone wanted a park.

"There wasn't a park anywhere around," Malone said. "I thought 'Why complain about it? Let's do something about it.' I could do something about it as a commissioner; I couldn't do anything about it as a cop."

In a hard-fought race, Malone defeated Christensen, a 23-year political veteran, by 2,286 votes.

Three years later, Malone has a park where his 1-year-old son, Grant, can play.

But getting that park might have been the easiest part of Malone's tenure, which has included ethics complaints, accusations that he catered to contributors and most recently charges that his word is worthless.

Malone can't imagine his troubles overshadowing his accomplishments. And neither can many of his constituents.

Malone expedited the widening of U.S. 95 and the Las Vegas Beltway. He worked closely with the city of Las Vegas on a soccer complex at Lake Mead Boulevard and Tenaya Road, a project he claims is one of his greatest achievements.

"The challenge was changing the mind-set of the staff," Malone said, adding that the county and city had previously been reluctant to work together. "I had to yell and scream, but it was the way to go. Neither the city nor the county could come up with $7 million on their own."

He also worked with the city on Town Center, a massive commercial development that is crucial to residents whose once-rural neighborhoods are being encroached upon by the valley's sprawling urban region.

"Commercial is in one specific area allowing rural preservation areas to remain rural," Malone said. "We can waive sidewalks, curbs and streetlights. Residents can still sit in their yard and enjoy the stars."

Carroll Varner, president of the Northwest Citizens Association, said if he were to grade Malone on his first term he would give him an A-plus. Malone's only downfall is he is Republican, the lifelong Democrat said jokingly.

Varner credited the commissioner with protecting rural neighborhoods, keeping Town Center boundaries under control and supporting residents' wishes for the master plan.

"We can't complain, he's supported us on all of our wishes," Varner said. "I'm making an assumption here, but I think I represent the feelings of everybody out here. I talk to all of them, and I know how they feel."

Becky Grismanauskas, a member of the Mount Charleston Town Board, said her neighbors in the tiny community credit Malone with saving their pristine mountain from an expansive commercial development.

He also delivered the town its first fire engine.

"Lance Malone is a household name up here," Grismanauskas said. "I have never supported a Democrat in my life. I support him. Anybody who knows me knows that's an incredible thing for me to say."

Clark County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury said the relationship Malone has built with residents in District C is unusual. Malone is constantly chatting with homeowners, he said.

"He's always out in his district meeting with constituents, trying to resolve the big issues and even issues that are small but important to residents," Woodbury said.

Malone has developed a solid support base with residents in the northwest during the last three years, but his tenure hasn't been without missteps.

Serving as commissioner is Malone's first stint in office since he was student body president at Clark High School in 1980 -- hardly comparable to sitting on the most powerful board in the state.

"This has been a roller coaster ride," the 38-year-old Malone said. "One day you're up, and the next you're down. But I do the best I can, and I've learned you can't satisfy everybody."

His first lesson was in ethics, and it came five months into his term. Malone was lambasted when he failed to disclose his friendship with Gay Reber before voting to grant her a lucrative concessions contract at McCarran International Airport.

During the Nevada Ethics Commission investigation, Malone offered a quote that won't likely be forgotten by opponents in the upcoming commission race: "I didn't know it was THAT Gay Reber."

Malone insists the comment was made in jest when he was speaking to a reporter, and the quote was taken out of context.

Throughout his tenure, Malone has maintained he is dedicated to enhancing and protecting neighborhoods, whether they are on the desert floor or tucked among the trees on Mount Charleston.

But a recent vote, which Malone critics have put right up there with the Reber incident, has some residents doubting his commitment.

Malone had assured Spring Valley homeowners and Station Casino executives that he would vote against a Triple Five Development Corp. plan to build a resort in the southwest section of Las Vegas. Opponents claim the resort would violate a state law that prohibits casinos in neighborhoods.

After resisting meetings with Triple Five representatives, Malone finally agreed to meet with the group on a Friday before the vote. The next Monday he visited the project site for the first time. And the next day, he voted for the casino.

Malone's admission that he went back on his word -- which those involved said was a strong commitment -- prompted Station Casinos to begin a search for a viable County Commission candidate to run against Malone.

"It was a risk because (Station Casinos) could have done exactly what they're doing now," he said. "It would have behooved me to vote no, but it wasn't right. Good government superseded early commitments."

It didn't take long for government watchdogs to sift through Malone's campaign contribution forms to determine who out-contributed the other -- Station Casinos or Triple Five. The answer so far is Station Casinos with $40,000.

Malone's contention that elected officials change their minds often didn't comfort his major campaign contributor, who is still befuddled by the vote.

"I've been involved in this political game for a very long time and this was the first instance where someone had committed to me twice and then went against their word," said Stations Casino executive Mark Brown.

Malone's last-minute change of mind could prove to be his greatest obstacle in his bid for re-election.

On Friday, Malone became the target of full-page newspaper advertisements that asks for donations to help fund the Spring Valley residents' pending lawsuit against the county.

The ad warns residents that Malone advocates building casinos in homeowners' back yards. It depicts a casino towering above homes with a marquee that reads: This neighborhood casino brought to you by Commissioner Lance Malone.

The citizens group is set to appear before the state Gaming Policy Committee on Monday to appeal the commission's approval of the eight-story, 300-room hotel-casino. The committee, which was established in 1997 but has never before heard an appeal, has the power to overturn the board's decision.

Whether Triple Five will up its contribution to Malone's campaign because of his support will likely be closely tracked. But questions about contributors is nothing new to Malone.

Every time an Adelson project comes before the board, he is pegged as the one who will shepherd it through the process. He's been called a puppet: Adelson's commissioner, bought and paid for.

Malone's blue eyes disappear beneath his eyelids and his face reddens. Claims that he caters to Adelson's wants are getting old.

Adelson is spending millions to fight an MGM Grand-Bally's monorail that essentially links Hilton-owned casinos and bypasses his Sands Convention Center. Malone voted for it.

Adelson protested the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is in direct competition with his own facility. Malone supported it.

"It's disappointing to see people who think that just because of contributions, you'll go that way," Malone said. "I'm the one who has to look in the mirror in the morning."

Malone is tempted to compare his voting record on Adelson projects with his union-supported colleagues' votes on union issues. But when the topic is broached, he opts not to discuss fellow board members' allegiances.

Malone and Commissioner Mary Kincaid were the only two board members who voted against a union-crafted ordinance that was designed to keep nonunion Wal-Mart from opening its supercenter store in town.

However, Malone also received money from the police union. And when it was time to vote for a controversial citizens review board -- an entity that will investigate police brutality cases -- Malone was reluctant to support it.

"It's a costly endeavor, and we already have a system that is working, the Internal Affairs Bureau," said Malone, who eventually voted for the board. "When things have gone wrong, Sheriff (Jerry) Keller has taken care of it."

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said Malone is no different than his colleagues when it comes to Metro. He said no board member is willing to criticize the department.

But Peck said the ACLU has questioned a handful of Malone's proposed ordinances -- one that would prevent children from checking out Playboy magazine in libraries and the other that prohibits adult-oriented businesses from being too close together.

"He seems sometimes to mix up his own religious and moral values with public policy," Peck said of Malone, who is a member of the Mormon Church. "We have been deeply disappointed in his willingness to compromise the constitutional and other legal rights of Southern Nevadans in attempting to push his own agendas."

Malone admits he has taken his knocks. But, he said, his critics cannot claim he didn't fulfill his campaign promises from 1996.

The incumbent doesn't know who will be his most difficult adversary. Civil rights activist Dr. James Tate has announced that he will run against Malone. Other names that have been mentioned are Clark County School Board member Lois Tarkanian and Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bob Forbuss.

It doesn't matter to Malone. The commissioner snagged Kent Oram, the political consultant who orchestrated Christensen's campaign against him in 1996, to run his campaign. Malone is confident that, with Oram's assistance, he will be successful.

"I won't deviate from our message and that is to tell people I've accomplished exactly what I said I'd accomplish the last time," Malone said. "I've expedited the Beltway. I've provided the first county park in the northwest."

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