Editorial: Don’t let the door …

Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004 | 9:06 a.m.

Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack says he won't be a candidate in next year's municipal elections. Bravo.

Since he was appointed to the City Council five years ago, Mack has been an embarrassment. Dan Hart, who managed Mack's 2001 election campaign, told the Sun that Mack would not have had a pleasant experience had he decided to run again. "He's had his name dragged through the mud and it would be again," Hart said. The way we see it, Mack dragged his own name through the mud.

Mack once voted to deny a zoning permit for a car dealership, while failing to disclose that he personally owed $60,000 to a competing car dealer. The city ethics board recommended he be prosecuted but criminal charges were dismissed by a judge. The high-profile affair did not reflect well on the city. Another time, Mack faced an ethics charge after abstaining on a council agenda item. The item was represented by attorney Eric Goodman, son of Mayor Oscar Goodman. Mack disclosed only that Eric Goodman was representing him in a "personal venture." The state Ethics Commission did not find a violation, but admonished Mack that he should have explained the venture. Also, outrageously, Councilman Mack took a consulting job with Treasurers, a strip club regulated by the City Council and whose license the council eventually revoked.

Good government is not what comes to mind when thinking of Mack's time on the council. When it comes time for him to leave, all we'll have to say is: Don't let the door hit you on the way out.