Secretary of state clears councilwoman

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, May 17, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

Just weeks after she was cleared by the city's ethics board, the Nevada secretary of state has ruled Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald did not violate any campaign reporting laws when she accepted a free trip from Station Casinos in 1999.

Resident Tim Laffery filed the complaint to the city and secretary of state one month before the primary election, alleging that the councilwoman violated laws when she classified the Notre Dame trip as a "political contribution."

Lafferty was an acquaintance of Mark Solomon, who ran against Boggs McDonald in the Ward 2 race in the primary election. Boggs McDonald defeated her opponent with more than 70 percent of the vote.

Susan Morandi, deputy secretary of state for elections, told Lafferty in a letter that Boggs McDonald complied with the regulations in reporting the trip as a campaign contribution.

Morandi also wrote that the councilwoman complied with Nevada law by correctly placing a value on the trip.

Boggs McDonald received a statement from Scott Nielson of Station Casinos, which valued the trip at $2,256.22.

"Because Ms. Boggs McDonald complied with the regulatory requirement for placing a value on the trip and properly reported it as a campaign contribution, this office does not find any evidence indicating that a violation ... has occurred," Morandi wrote.

Attorney John Mowbray, who is representing Boggs McDonald, said the complaints were politically-motivated and have no merit.

The city's ethics board dismissed a similar complaint last month when Lafferty failed to show up for the hearing.

The councilwoman still faces a hearing before the state's Ethics Commission, on a similar complaint. The complaint was filed by resident Barry Levine, another acquaintance of Solomon.

Mowbray said he will respond to the state Ethics Commission's decision to hold a hearing into the matter. One of his options is to ask for the hearing to be dismissed based on the new ruling.

"It comes down to disclosure and from the beginning she was forthright," Mowbray said. "It's too bad these different boards have been manipulated by campaigns to generate negative publicity."

Sun reporter

Cy Ryan contributed to this report.