By David McGrath Schwartz

Mon, Jan 28, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Some Democrats have apparently found a new source for steady campaign cash — conservative casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Following the lead of two Democratic leaders, another Clark County commissioner and a commission hopeful accepted contributions last year from Adelson’s companies, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.

Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly took $10,000 from an Adelson company in 2007, and Councilman Larry Brown, hoping to win the seat being vacated by Commissioner Chip Maxfield, took $5,000.

For years there has been a tense, arms-length relationship between Adelson and Democratic politicians, fueled by Adelson’s support of conservative causes and his casinos’ non-union status.

But in 2006, Chris Giunchigliani took $40,000 from Adelson companies after she won the Democratic primary for the Clark County Commission seat she now holds. Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, who also has been a state Democratic Party chairman, took $10,000. Those contributions passed without note, but were revealed in a Las Vegas Sun story in December.

Collins took an additional $6,000 from Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands and Venetian last year.

Adelson has clashed with Democrats and their allies in the past. In the late 1990s, he tried to limit labor’s ability to become active in political races. He also tried to unseat or recall a number of Democratic Clark County commissioners, and he has become a major contributor to Freedom’s Watch, a conservative group that has run advertisements across the country supporting President Bush’s position on Iraq and backing Republican congressional candidates.

But the icy relationship’s major cause is that Adelson’s properties, the Venetian and the Palazzo, are the only major Strip resorts whose workers are not represented by Culinary Union Local 226.

The Culinary Union would not comment for this story. But one Democratic operative close to the union said: “Everybody knows you don’t take money from Sheldon. Nothing has changed. If anything, it’s gotten worse as he has been more and more involved in funding national groups.”

Democrats’ accepting campaign dollars from Adelson, despite the Culinary’s unofficial edict, could turn into a major test of the union, which finds itself in unfamiliar territory.

It had long been considered one of the most powerful forces in Nevada Democratic politics. Then came the Jan. 19 Democratic presidential caucus, for which the union made a late endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama. Not only did Culinary fail to deliver the state to the Illinois senator, but it got thumped by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s supporters at seven of the nine sites set up on the Strip for casino workers.

The caucus diminished Culinary’s status in the eyes of the state’s political class. And the contributions — all accepted well before the Jan. 19 caucus — seem to suggest that Democratic politicians are more comfortable testing the union.

Many think the Culinary Union will have to become heavily involved in an upcoming election to reassert its political clout. Taking money from Adelson’s companies could paint a target on some Democrats’ backs, sources said.

Weekly said he didn’t know that the contribution from the Las Vegas Sands Corp. could cause a row.

“This is a whole new culture to run a campaign in,” said Weekly, who was a Las Vegas City Council member before being appointed last year to the commission. “I would never do anything to disrespect the Culinary Union.”

If there is a ban on taking Adelson money, he said, “obviously, I missed the memo.”

Brown said the contribution to his campaign came about as a result of an “open fundraiser” aimed at those who had not dealt with the city during his 10-year tenure there.

“It was an open invitation to anyone who wanted to support the campaign,” he said. “A $100, $1,000 or $5,000 campaign contribution is not going to dictate or influence how I will approach issues.”

He said he already has reached out to meet with the Culinary Union’s leadership. Sig Rogich, a consultant for Adelson and his companies, said the Adelson companies were merely fulfilling their civic responsibility by giving campaign contributions.

“The Venetian is being a good citizen and participating in the political process, supporting good candidates,” Rogich said. “It doesn’t mean anything more than that.”

There also is a clearly practical reason why Adelson would fund Democrats. Of the seven county commissioners, only Bruce Woodbury and Maxfield are Republicans.

The county commission seats held by Woodbury, Maxfield, Weekly and Collins will be on the ballot this year.