McDonald MIA at City Hall

Erin Neff

Thursday, May 4, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

The man who was once purported to be the Las Vegas shadow mayor is increasingly little more than a shadow.

Finding Councilman Michael McDonald at City Hall, committee meetings, and often at official council sessions is becoming as rare as straight explanations for his absences.

"He's just out," said McDonald's ward liaison, Rick Henry, after his boss failed to show for Wednesday's City Council meeting. "He's just taking care of business, that's all I'm supposed to say."

Many others in City Hall said McDonald had told them he would be on vacation. He told one person he was "on the beach with my parents" and told another he was going to Laguna Beach, Calif.

Reached Wednesday afternoon on his personal cell phone, McDonald said he was working.

"My work at City Hall is continuing," McDonald said. "The new job I have now is to set up the client base. That is my job to do."

McDonald was hired by Las Vegas Color Graphics sometime in January or February (he was uncertain of his start date). The company is run by former Henderson City Councilman Larry Scheffler, who did not return a call.

"We're now in a competition mode," McDonald said of Color Graphics. "I go on out and get any printing or color graphics business I can."

McDonald said his job requires him to travel to Los Angeles and Orange counties in California.

"My bosses are flexible dealing with city issues," he said. But in reference to his travel, he said, "It's whenever I'm told to go, wherever I'm told to go."

An examination of meeting minutes filed in the city clerk's office shows McDonald's absences date back to last fall but have grown increasingly commonplace in the past four months. Meeting minutes for all council members were checked. With the exception of McDonald, all had perfect attendance, although Lynette Boggs McDonald was excused early during one afternoon session to leave for a convention where she was representing the city.

In addition to his spotty attendance at City Council meetings, McDonald did not show up for issue-oriented workshops on downtown's future (Feb. 28), the city's strategic plan (Oct. 18, 1999) or the 2001 fiscal year budget (April 26).

"The budget is not decided there," McDonald said. "The final decision is made during a televised City Council meeting. We set the policy during council days."

McDonald said he did not consider the three council workshops to be council meetings. He also said he did not feel he missed anything at the workshops that he couldn't learn later.

"I've been briefed by my staff members, the other council members and the department heads," McDonald said.

Sources in City Hall say McDonald hasn't received the routine pre-council meeting briefing from city staff in months.

"It's like 'Where's Waldo,' " said one department-level head. "He hasn't been to a briefing in months."

McDonald disputed the claim, saying his staff has been briefed.

A review of a year's worth of city meeting records shows McDonald does attend some portion of nearly every televised council meeting. However, he is the only sitting board member whose attendance record frequently includes excused absences.

For example, on Aug. 18, McDonald was excused from the morning session at 10:17 a.m. and from the afternoon session until after 2:30 p.m. The morning session begins at 9 and runs until it is finished -- normally about noon. The afternoon session is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

On Sept. 15, 1999, McDonald was absent after 9:51 a.m. and until 2:25 p.m. His shortest stay was on Feb. 16 when he appeared for only one item -- from 9:36 to 9:59 a.m.

Once last fall McDonald was excused from the council meeting to make a presentation at the County Commission meeting. On Feb. 16, he was ill as a result of dental work.

On April 19 McDonald left the morning session early for a church-related fund-raiser and was hours late for the afternoon session.

On April 5 McDonald left the afternoon session immediately before a controversial vote to grant political consultant Sig Rogich a tavern license for an office building.

He also left the council meetings of March 1 and March 15 after abstaining on items but did not return immediately after those hearings ended.

In addition to the council meetings, McDonald has missed several Audit Oversight Committee meetings -- including the April 18 meeting when the committee recommended a person to fill the city auditor's post.

Ironically, it was McDonald who pushed acting city auditor Philip Cheng for that job.

Last year, when McDonald still served on the Real Estate and Recommending committees, he had a pattern of attending two meetings and missing one.

For example, he missed the Real Estate committee meetings on Oct. 18, Nov. 30 and Dec. 13 and attended the meetings on Nov. 2 and 15.

"I don't have the best attendance record," McDonald said. "I have a good record."

But some council members are beginning to feel as though they're left picking up his slack.

Mayor Oscar Goodman was left Wednesday in the embarrassing position of explaining his unfamiliarity with representatives of the Nevada Department of Transportation's Freeway Service Patrol, which McDonald had earmarked to receive a proclamation.

"I'm sorry," Goodman said after misidentifying one man as the other. "This is Councilman McDonald's item."

Even more noticeable was discord between council members and a neighborhood group over the planned $2.5 million Pioneer Park.

The Charleston Heights Neighborhood group previously fought the city's sale of the Charleston Neighborhood Preservation Park to NDOT. The sale was needed to accommodate the widening of U.S. 95.

The dispute comes because the neighborhood borders both McDonald's and Lynette Boggs McDonald's wards. McDonald raised concerns about the Pioneer site on Monday and asked Councilman Gary Reese to hold the item for him.

But Reese couldn't find support on the council to hold the item, and thus voted against it.

"If he was here, and asked, I would support him," Reese said at the meeting, hitting a sore spot with Boggs McDonald.

"I beg to differ because I've asked for an abeyance, and you didn't support me," she said, referring to a January vote on a proposed Costco store.

McDonald said his request should have been accommodated.

"When I can't be there for something, I have asked Gary Reese to look after it for me," McDonald said. "Obviously (Boggs McDonald) held some axe to grind with Gary because he wouldn't hold something in abeyance for her."

In an interview after the vote Boggs McDonald said she didn't think abeying the park item would have changed anything.

"I live in Charleston Heights, and I walk through the neighborhood," she said. "When his constituents (in the area) need something, they knock on my door."

When Goodman took office, some suggested McDonald would actually run the council quietly because it was perceived that he had control of three of the five votes needed to pass an item.

The expansion of the council to seven seats this January, however, coupled with McDonald's losing effort to get both of his choices appointed to the new council seats, eroded the Shadow Mayor image.