Editorial: Was the rise worth the fall?

Friday, Nov. 7, 2003 | 6:11 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION Nov. 8 - 9, 2003

Erin Kenny's name began appearing publicly in 1992, the year she was elected to the Legislature. She would go on to create a big name for herself as a two-term Clark County commissioner and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Mention her name today, though, and what first comes to mind are her guilty pleas to federal charges of political corruption.

She is a major figure in the ongoing federal probe of political corruption in the Las Vegas Valley. News of her guilty pleas came Thursday, the same day an indictment was handed down against Clark County Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, former Clark County commissioner Dario Herrera and former Clark County commissioner Lance Malone. Pleading guilty to racketeering was strip-club owner Michael Galardi. Charges that he bribed Kincaid-Chauncey, Kenny and Herrera for votes favorable to his clubs, while using Malone as a middleman, are at the heart of the investigation.

Malone, Herrera and Kincaid-Chauncey are innocent until proven guilty. Nevertheless, the news of their indictments further erodes public confidence in elected officials. As commission chairwoman, Kincaid-Chauncey is Clark County's official representative and presides at community and ceremonial events. For now, she should graciously pass her chairmanship to another commissioner.

Meanwhile, everything written about this corruption probe should be required reading for aspiring politicians. Erin Kenny, once one of Southern Nevada's most powerful officials, is now facing sentencing by a federal judge. No one rises so high that she can't fall if personal enrichment becomes a higher value than public service.