McDonald loses ‘pro tem’ title

Erin Neff

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

Without comment, the Las Vegas City Council unanimously stripped Michael McDonald this morning of his mayor pro tem duties and gave the position to Gary Reese.

But after the silent 7-0 vote, Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald issued the sharpest warning and most eloquent words to date in what City Hall insiders are calling City War.

"We will not tolerate any form of retaliation, intimidation of any employee of this city," she said.

"Today begins a new day," Boggs McDonald said. "It's a new day of honor. It's a new day of respect."

McDonald quietly listened as his colleague decried the "breach to the honor of the city of Las Vegas" she implied was caused by his recent behavior.

After the meeting McDonald said he thought her speech was great and didn't know who she was warning not to retaliate against city employees when she read a section of the state law dealing with that crime.

"I have no idea," McDonald said. "I don't support any retaliation either."

But it was retaliatory behavior that the Las Vegas Ethics Review Board determined McDonald used when he inappropriately tried to scuttle the efforts of one-time political adviser Sig Rogich to get a tavern license.

And many on the 10th floor fear McDonald, who reportedly carries a concealed weapon while in City Hall, will play games like the one exposed last week when he secretly taped a private conversation with Mayor Oscar Goodman.

"I think today and the past several months have been very tumultuous and stressful for the entire City Council," Boggs McDonald said.

After the meeting, Goodman said he chose not to comment during the meeting because he thinks, "the act in and of itself is sufficient enough."

Mayor pro tem is a largely ceremonial position whose holder runs meetings in the mayor's absence. McDonald has turned the post into something different, commanding a huge corner office on the 10th floor and quietly proclaiming to be something of a shadow mayor.

But this morning's council decision, coming a week after McDonald was found to have broken ethics laws, leaves him all but powerless inside City Hall.

The Las Vegas Ethics Review Board ruled McDonald violated the city's conflicts of interest law by privately acting on items from which he publicly recused himself.

But it was McDonald's behavior after that hearing that forced today's special meeting and sent Goodman on a verbal tirade calling McDonald "a piece of garbage" and "a sleazeball."

When Goodman privately asked McDonald to step down as mayor pro tem, McDonald was secretly taping the conversation. Since McDonald thought the expletive-laced conversation made Goodman look bad, he released it to the media.

A half hour before the hearing began, residents began filing in to the council chambers -- some to support a councilman who has improved their ward, others to criticize and several just to see the curious proceedings play out.

"He's the first city official in 30 years whose done anything for our older neighborhoods," said Katherine Martin, representing the Richfield Homeowners Association.

Boggs McDonald agreed McDonald is a "great" councilman, but said his other behavior has little to do with whether he can successfully fill potholes and paint crosswalks.

Reese, who was first elected in 1995, said he would work immediately to restore honor to the mayor pro tem post.

"I wish the circumstances could have been different," Reese said after the vote and congratulatory hugs from his colleagues. "I want to bring stability to the board."

The mayor pro tem title isn't the only thing McDonald may lose.

He faces possible criminal prosecution in Municipal Court based on the Ethics Review Board's findings last week. Citizens are signing petitions to recall him from office, and the Nevada Ethics Commission will consider similar charges against McDonald on Dec. 7.

If McDonald is found guilty in Municipal Court, he will lose his council seat. The state ethics board can begin impeachment proceedings.