Ethics complaint hits commission race

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 9:50 a.m.

An allegation that Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald violated the state ethics code has been filed with the Nevada Ethics Commission.

The complaint, a copy of which was forwarded to the Las Vegas Sun, was filed by Roger Jesko of Las Vegas. Jesko alleges that Boggs McDonald, in her former position of Las Vegas councilwoman, tried to save her husband's job at the state treasurer's office. The allegations have been made before, and other media accounts attributed them to Democratic Assemblymen Morse Arberry and Wendell Williams.

Boggs McDonald, a Republican, is locked in a mud-slinging contest with Democratic Assemblyman David Goldwater in the election for the District F County Commission seat. Her husband, Steven McDonald, resigned in 2003 from his job in the treasurer's office.

Jesko did not immediately return phone calls Thursday. He cited Arberry and Williams as witnesses for his complaint, technically called a request for opinion. The complaint is dated Oct. 16, but it is unclear on what day Jesko filed it with the commission. The commission won't comment at all on complaints.

Arberry and Williams also were not available for comment, and have previously not returned calls on the allegations.

Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby, likewise, did not return calls on the matter.

Nevada Treasurer Brian Krolicki, citing "personnel issues and perhaps the subject of an ethics procedure," declined comment.

Boggs McDonald's campaign manager, Ryan Erwin, said the ethics complaint is "completely baseless."

"This is a person who's trying to help David Goldwater by filing a baseless ethics complaint," Erwin said. "It's unfortunate when somebody tries to use the system like this.

"I think something like this, that is as baseless as it is factless, doesn't have a big impact. Generally the voting public can sniff out a rat, and they're smart enough to know there's nothing there."

Goldwater said he had no direct connection to Jesko.

"There are a lot of people upset with her campaign against me, the level of vehemence," he said.

Goldwater said he has not focused on the allegation that Boggs McDonald used her position to influence state government, but he said he was aware of the allegation.

"There was a strong rumor that then-Councilwoman McDonald put pressure on the state treasurer to keep her husband's job and that she leaned on city employees to do the dirty work," he said.

Meanwhile, the Boggs McDonald campaign is sticking to its claim that Goldwater had liens placed against his property.

Boggs McDonald initially said the liens were on taxes, but the campaign now says the liens were for unpaid sewer and trash collection charges for a property at 2701 Miraflores Avenue. The campaign produced records showing a lien on the property by Republic Services, the trash collection company, filed May 7, and a lien filed by Las Vegas for sewer services filed May 21, 2003.

The sewer lien was released June 19, 2003.

Goldwater said he sold that property in March and that any bills on the property have been paid.

"I've never had a known lien in my life," he said. "I have never had any tax liens against property I've owned."

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