Ethics panel rejects Miller’s complaint against Moncrief

Tuesday, July 29, 2003 | 11 a.m.

The Nevada Commission on Ethics has thrown out a complaint against Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief, saying the commission has no jurisdiction over someone's actions prior to taking office.

Political activist Steve Miller filed the complaint on July 22, alleging that during the recent municipal campaign Moncrief issued a mailer intended to deceive voters.

Ethics Commission Executive Director Stacy Jennings, in a letter to Miller dated last Tuesday, said because Moncrief was not in office at the time, the Ethics Commission is not the proper forum for the complaint.

"The commission has jurisdiction to investigate the actions of public officers and public employees," Jennings said in the letter. "Janet Moncrief was elected to the Las Vegas City Council on June 3. The actions which you describe occurred on April 3. ...

"Accordingly, we have no jurisdiction over her conduct during the election cycle."

The decision by the Ethics Commission does not affect complaints Miller and others have filed with the Secretary of State's office, claiming irregularities in Moncrief's reporting of campaign contributions and expenses. The Secretary of State's office oversees election activity.

The announcement as to whether an investigation will go forward on those complaints is expected later this week after officials return Wednesday from the National Association of Secretary of States conference in Maine, a spokeswoman in Secretary of State Dean Heller's office said.

Miller, who also alleged in the ethics complaint that Moncrief's campaign for office was secretly -- and illegally -- financed by former casino owner Bob Stupak, said Monday he is not surprised by the Ethics Commission's decision, but still believes the complaint could have been further investigated.

"I thought the Ethics Commission had the authority to look at this as part of its investigations into truthfulness in political campaigns," Miller said. "But I accept the Ethics Commission's decision. We'll wait and see what the Secretary of State's office does."

Moncrief also has sent her statement to the Secretary of State. She denies allegations that she had illegally financed mailers aimed at discrediting Michael McDonald, the incumbent she defeated in the June 3 election for the Ward 1 council seat.

Moncrief has denied on several occasions -- most recently in response to Miller's ethics complaint -- that Stupak financed her campaign.

She has described Miller as a would-be supporter who kept calling her to ask if he could help her campaign. But, she said, Miller became disgruntled when she did not give him a liaison job at City Hall after she won the election.

Miller, who also was a strong critic of McDonald and had sought to get him out of office, has said he helped Moncrief edit and scan into a computer an anti-union flier prior to the April primary, which she won. The intent was to make the flier appear it came from McDonald, Miller said.

Peter "Chris" Christoff, one of Moncrief's primary opponents who subsequently became one of her supporters, and Robert Conrad, a Moncrief campaign volunteer, also have filed affidavits with the Secretary of State asserting they secretly worked for Moncrief's campaign without pay.

Their claims followed a complaint filed in April by McDonald's campaign manager, Jim Ferrence, accusing Moncrief of violations including under-reporting campaign contributions and expenses.