Ethics panel cautions Boggs McDonald on disclosures

Friday, Aug. 15, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

The state Ethics Commission has cautioned Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald to sufficiently disclose reasons for abstaining and voting on matters that relate to her service on the board of Station Casinos.

The board voted 5-0 for the admonishment, with three members absent at Thursday's meeting in Carson City. The board also commended Boggs McDonald for asking the board for an opinion before she took the post with the gaming company in late July.

"We simply pointed out to her that she has a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders and a duty of loyalty and care to the (Stations) board, but she also has an obligation as a public officer to put the public's trust first," Ethics Commission Chairman Thomas Sheets said today.

"She has two constituencies to answer to and there can be a scratchiness at times. It was the admonition of the board that she be diligent in her disclosures -- the more disclosure the better."

Sheets also praised Boggs McDonald for requesting the proceedings be held in an open forum. He said she had the right to ask for confidentiality via a closed-door session, where only the decision would be disclosed.

Boggs McDonald attended the 90-minute hearing with City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

Ethics Commission Vice Chairman Rick Hsu told McDonald that she should disclose more than just the fact that she is on the Stations board when abstaining or voting, so that the voters can better understand the reasons behind her decision.

"If she is abstaining on a number of votes and the public understand why, then it give voters more information to gauge their level of representation -- whether they are getting their money's worth," said Sheets, an attorney who also serves as general counsel for Southwest Gas.

State statutes and city ordinances allow elected officials to disclose conflicts of interests and still vote on matters in some cases and disclose and abstain from voting in other circumstances.

Boggs McDonald, who made a number of disclosures on gaming-related items at the Aug. 6 City Council meeting, has said she does not believe her appointment to the Stations board will pose much of a problem at City Hall.