Editorial: A better way of doing business

THE death knell may have finally sounded for the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that has given the politically connected an edge in the awarding of lucrative government contracts in Nevada.

The state Ethics Commission on Saturday determined that Clark County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone broke ethics laws in last year's vote on McCarran International Airport concessions. The Ethics Commission cited Gates for six violations in assisting two of her friends, fund-raiser Judy Klein and political consultant Michael Chambliss, in getting airport concessions. The panel said Malone committed two violations for helping a longtime family friend, Gay Reber.

But because Gates and Malone had been advised by the district attorney's office that they acted properly, it prevented the Ethics Commission from placing sanctions on the two. Even though Malone and Gates escaped penalties, the Ethics Commission's decision should send a strong, clear message through every level of government in Nevada that the old way of doing business is over. "There's definitely a new set of standards," Gates acknowledged. "It's not going to be business as usual."

Political patronage is nothing new and has been around at some time in nearly every corner of the nation, including Southern Nevada. As the Sun's Jeff German pointed out Monday in an analysis, political patronage reached its height here during the tenure of Clark County Manager Bruce Spaulding in the early 1980s and continued during the 12-year term of ex-County Manager Pat Shalmy, who retired in 1997.

But just because crony politics has been with us doesn't mean that it should continue or be condoned. Times definitely have changed; political patronage doesn't have a place in Nevada politics.

And while the proper rulings were issued in the cases of Malone and Gates, a couple of points need to be made on related issues. First, it's a shame that Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams had to suffer through 10 months of the Ethics Commission's investigation into similar accusations about airport concessions before she was cleared on Saturday. Williams was exonerated by the Ethics Commission of any wrongdoing over her vote for a company that included her friend, Judy Klein, because she didn't know that Klein was involved with the company until after the vote.

Second, something needs to be said about the chairwoman of the ethics panel. There is a fine line between being a tough, aggressive head of a panel or being a bully. Chairwoman Mary Boetsch's style seems to fall more appropriately into the latter category. Boetsch appears too willing to berate those who appear before her.

The Ethics Commission has an incredible amount of authority and it must be careful not to abuse its power. The commission, including its chairwoman, should be above belittling the public officials who must appear before it. The commission is entrusted to make dispassionate decisions based on the evidence before it; acting mean-spirited does nothing to instill trust.

Still, the Ethics Commission made a sound decision in establishing stricter ethical guidelines for elected officials. It's vital that the public have faith that their elected officials are not misusing their positions to help out campaign contributors or consultants who have worked on their campaigns by awarding them hefty government contracts. To do so only sows distrust among the public, which believes correctly that government contracts should be awarded to individuals who have the best bid, and not only to those who have the most influence with elected officials.

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