Malone drafts policies for ethics

Weary from trying to interpret state ethics laws, Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone has written some rules of his own.

The commissioner was stung last year with an ethics law violation after he placed an acquaintance's name on a list of potential McCarran International Airport concessionaires and voted for her without disclosing his relationship.

Malone said Tuesday he had only been in office six months and was told that submitting a list of potential business owners was the procedure used to award the lucrative contracts.

"I'd been told this is how it's always been done," Malone said. "But just because it has always been done that way doesn't mean it's right. I learned the hard way. That's unfortunate."

But rather than simply shrugging his shoulders and considering it a lesson learned, Malone drafted seven ethics policies he said he believes should be adopted by the county.

He will present his recommendations to his fellow board members Jan. 26, when the county-appointed ethics task force delivers its report -- also full of recommendations.

Malone said he is willing to vote for his suggested policy changes over those of the task force, which has been working on its recommendations for nearly a year, if the citizens group's are not as strict as his.

"Some people have said I should lay dormant and let it go," Malone said. "I admitted we made some faults and stubbed our toes. I think people are somewhat forgiving if you, one, don't make that mistake twice, and two, do something to correct them."

One of Malone's recommendations includes a five-member selection committee appointed by the Director of Aviation. The committee would scan applications and choose 10 of the more qualified applicants.

The names of the 10 applicants would be forwarded to the Clark County Commission for its approval.

Until the commission is prepared to approve the contracts, commissioners would have no contact with applicants or proponents of applicants. And as part of the process, applicants would be required to disclose all stakeholders in their companies.

"We will have had no contact with them and it's an above-board approach -- no rubber-stamping," Malone said.

Malone said with a pool of 10 viable applicants, the county can also avoid criticism of how it handles concession space that becomes vacant. Last month, one of the applicants placed on a County Commission-produced list was allowed to buy out the contract of a concessionaire leaving the airport.

Under Malone's policy, if a concessionaire closes the business, the county can look to the sixth applicant and work its way down the list until the space is filled.

Malone said he does not want to put himself or his family through another state ethics investigation, and therefore, feels strongly his recommendations should be adopted.

"If the task force's recommendations are not as strong as mine, I will not support it," Malone said. "Our responsibilities lie with setting policy."

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