Boggs McDonald, Montandon ethics witnesses

Diana Sahagun

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 11:15 a.m.

Two high-ranking officials who claim they were the target of political harassment before the primary election will have the chance next week to make their case before the Nevada Ethics Commission.

Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon -- who were both elected in April's primary -- will be called as primary witnesses in two separate cases before the commission Thursday.

The officials claim the ethics complaints filed against them were politically motivated, an attempt to hamper their chances for election. Both Boggs McDonald and Montandon won their seats with huge margins. Their accusers will not be called as witnesses.

Boggs McDonald will enter the ethics hearing with an unblemished record of victories in similar complaints. She was cleared by the Las Vegas Ethics Commission and the Nevada Secretary of State Election Division in similar complaints.

It was a split decision to even have Thursday's hearing on the complaint against Boggs McDonald. A two-member ethics panel tied in a vote on whether there was sufficient evidence to proceed with a full-blown hearing. Because the panel tied, the commission must hold a hearing.

Her attorney, John Mowbray, said last month he will argue that the case should be dismissed on the grounds that the commission in the past has not gotten involved with the Nevada Campaign Practice Act, which handles disclosures by public officials. The Nevada Secretary of State Election Division handles such complaints.

In May, the Nevada Secretary of State ruled that Boggs McDonald did not violate any campaign reporting laws when she accepted a free trip from Station Casinos in 1999. She reported the trip as a campaign contribution.

Boggs McDonald will be the only witness called to speak, said Polly Hamilton, executive director of the commission. The man who filed the complaint, Barry Levine, is an acquaintance of Mark Solomon, who ran against Boggs McDonald in the primary race.

In Montandon's case, the panel said the mayor failed to disclose his relationship with his former business partner, Shawn Lampman, who was involved in property that was being rezoned to allow a golf course.

Richard Wright, Montandon's attorney, will argue there was no business relationship at the time the casino matters came before the City Council.

Montandon and Lampman formed a limited liability company Feb. 4, 1999, for the purpose of purchasing 30 acres in Logandale. Montandon had planned to purchase a third of the property but by mid-1999 did not have the money.

Wright wrote in a letter filed with Hamilton earlier this month that the business relationship ended in August 1999 when Montandon decided not to purchase the property. But Montandon was not technically removed from the LLC in documents filed with the secretary of state until after the complaint was filed.

Lampman was involved in a deal with Station Casinos, in which the gaming company was planning to build a casino on the Craig Ranch Golf Course.

Montandon did not disclose his relationship with Lampman in September 2000 when he voted to rezone 36 acres on the golf course to allow for the construction of the casino.

In February, when Montandon voted to approve the casino site, he disclosed his relationship after residents confronted him about the LLC, according to Wright's letter.

City Attorney Sean McGowan advised the mayor that because their business relationship allegedly ended in 1999, he did not have a substantial and continuing relationship with Lampman. Therefore, he could disclose the former relationship and continue to vote.

Montandon, Lampman, and McGowan will be called to testify, Hamilton said.

Wright, who defended Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald in recent city and state ethics hearings, is also asking the commission to fine Chris Grant, the man who filed the complaint, $5,000 "because his conduct satisfies all of the benchmarks of bad faith and a vexatious purpose."

If the commission finds the officials are in willful violation -- meaning they should have known the conflict would violate the law -- the commission could fine them up to $5,000.

The commission could also forward the complaint to the district attorney or attorney general for a criminal investigation and to the city for possible impeachment proceedings.

Boggs McDonald's hearing is at 10 a.m. Thursday in Room 4401 at the Sawyer State Office Building, at Washington Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. Montandon's case will be heard there at 10:30 a.m.