Lightning rod for controversy

It's the other side of Erin Kenny.

Late for an appointment, the harried Clark County commissioner escorted her five children through the Desert Breeze Community Center and into the gymnasium.

Cotton pants replaced her usual power suit as she juggled her commitment to the public with trying to make good on a promise to her boys -- a mid-morning Pokemon matinee.

The Desert Breeze Community Center is the ideal place to convene. Kenny can use the recreation facility as a satellite office to conduct business and let her young family loose.

But the center also serves as a symbol, Kenny said, of what she has provided her constituents during her five-year run on the Clark County Commission.

"Spending a Saturday here seeing thousands of people playing and knowing that I had something to do with it is very rewarding," said Kenny, 38, adding that during her first term the county began more park projects than it had in the previous two decades.

Kenny portrays herself as a family woman who cares deeply about the community -- who is a mother of young children concerned about tobacco issues, air quality and the negative impacts huge retail stores have on neighborhoods.

But when Kenny pulls up to the dais in the County Commission chambers, the soccer-mom image vanishes. She turns into a hard-nosed politician who can deliver stinging comments to residents or openly challenge colleagues.

She also becomes a lightning rod for controversy, most recently illustrated by death threats Kenny received after collaborating with union leaders on the so-called Wal-Mart ordinance.

Residents and political rivals scoff at Kenny's portrayal as a mother looking out for children in the community.

They see a sneaky manipulator who is adept at the political game. In their eyes she is the commission member who favors big-time campaign contributors, caters to special-interest groups and helped orchestrate a coup attempt of the county manager.

"I think she plays the kid card too much. I don't think she truly 100 percent cares about residents," said Theresa Bunker, former president of the Enterprise Homeowners Association, which oversees neighborhoods in Kenny's district.

"She is making steps to become whatever she wants to become. Making money and being noticed is her agenda."

Public servant

Kenny insists she has become what she has dreamed of becoming since childhood: a public servant.

It was a goal she set as a teenager in Chicago. The granddaughter of Yugoslavian emigrants who cherished the democratic system, Kenny was taught early to satisfy her civic duties.

"My grandparents taught themselves to read and write," Kenny said. "But most important, they taught me to read the editorial pages of the newspaper every day to see what people are talking about."

Kenny herself has been no stranger to editorial pages since she moved to the Las Vegas Valley 11 years ago.

Her political career was born during evening strolls with her former Desert Shores neighbor Lyn Vick. Vick, a teacher who ran campaigns for state senators, convinced Kenny to run for the state assembly.

It was 1992, the year President Clinton declared the "Year of the Woman" and in a battle between political newcomers, Kenny easily defeated opponent Brad Goetting.

That victory was the first step in what has been a meteoric rise for Kenny.

A former Chicago waitress who in 1988 filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Kenny is now considered the most influential commissioner on perhaps the most powerful elected board in Nevada.

And she has done just as well in her life outside of politics. In 1997 Kenny's family moved from a modest home worth about $100,000 into a $346,060, five-bedroom home in the upscale golfing community of Rhodes Ranch.

She and her husband John, a chiropractor, still own their first two houses in Las Vegas, according to county assessor's reports.

Ingredients for success

The ingredients to Kenny's success are persistence and inflexibility, said Chris Kaempfer, a local attorney who frequently addresses the board.

"She can drive me absolutely crazy with her tenaciousness," he said. "If she is on an issue, she will stay on an issue and she will not let it go. That can be good and that can be bad."

Residents who have faced Kenny agree she won't back down from her position. And, they said, that has resulted in distrustful homeowners who have seen her push through zone changes to accommodate developers of office complexes and trash facilities in rural neighborhoods.

Whether it is because of curt exchanges with residents, her close relationships with developers or her friendships with influential businessmen, Kenny has earned a reputation as an instigator.

Most recently Kenny drew fire after she, on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, directed county planners to write a measure designed to keep nonunion Wal-Mart from opening a supercenter in the county.

The ordinance was sent back to planners once because it didn't incorporate the exact language requested by the union. But Kenny, who was backed by the union during last year's election, continued to reprimand speakers for turning the measure into a "union issue" during board meetings.

After the measure passed, Kenny wasn't the least apologetic about the uproar she created.

"You should see the next ordinance I'm thinking about introducing," Kenny announced. "It will be bigger and better."

That comment upset residents in attendance who argued the Wal-Mart ordinance was anti-free enterprise and perhaps demonstrated what some believe is an arrogant streak in Kenny.

Becoming bigger and better is certainly part of Kenny's agenda. Just months after she raised a record-breaking $1.2 million in her victorious effort to keep her seat, Kenny enrolled full time in law school at UNLV.

With five kids, a $54,000-a-year part-time job and law classes, time is precious. Kenny sometimes works on her law homework during presentations at commission meetings, but she insists the schooling will only make her a better representative.

"The community benefits," she said. "Being a 38-year-old student gives me a better appreciation for our education system."

In addition to enrolling in law school, Kenny also expressed interest in running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. She now says she would not run for the position.

"I'm committed to school and to my current office," she said. "More than that, I'm committed to my family and my husband."

Kaempfer said he is impressed with Kenny's ability to fulfill her commitment to her family and law classes and remain accessible for county business.

"If I had to characterize her biggest problem politically, it's that she tries to negotiate every deal," Kaempfer said. "She will set up a meeting between developers and residents to resolve an issue. As a consequence of doing that, homeowners perceive she is on the developer's side,"

But, Kaempfer added: " She has an unbelievably good sense of what is right and what is fair."

Some of her colleagues might disagree.

Fellow commissioners and county employees condemned Kenny and board member Dario Herrera for attempting to oust County Manager Dale Askew the day after he left for a weeklong vacation.

Political maneuver

The move was seen by many as maneuver to gain power on the board.

For three years, Kenny had former County Manager Pat Shalmy on her side. She accuses her nemesis, Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, of pushing Shalmy out of office and replacing him with Askew.

Kenny admits the ouster could have been handled differently, but she won't back off her assessment of Askew.

"I think it would be best for the county if Dale left," she said. "I'm surprised he hasn't resigned yet."

Kenny and Gates had a rocky relationship before Shalmy's departure and nothing has changed. Kenny, vice-chair of the board, has twice snubbed meeting etiquette by bypassing Gates and handing the gavel to commissioners with less seniority.

Kenny is usually on the opposite side of issues from Gates, Mary Kincaid and Myrna Williams. Gates and Williams both refused to comment on their relationship with Kenny.

However, Kenny is very capable of capturing the majority because she typically will back board members Herrera, Lance Malone and Bruce Woodbury. In turn, they support her.

But even though she's often under fire, Kenny has proved to be a resilient politician. She shook off a brutal ad blitz launched during last year's campaign by Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson to beat opponent Steve Harney and hold onto her seat for a second term.

The question is: Will Kenny's tight connections with unions and big business interests slow down her political ascent?

Residents who fought the Rhodes Ranch development are still angry that Kenny -- who colleagues say pushed for numerous variances for developer Jim Rhodes -- bought a house in the gated community.

"We nailed Rhodes for stealing water, they play footsy and now Kenny lives in the neighborhood," said Steve Small, president of the Enterprise Homeowners Association, referring to a 1996 case in which Rhodes was billed for taking $1.2 million gallons of water without paying.

Kenny's 4,700-square-foot house was built in about 40 days and the family moved in before final inspections were registered into the county computer.

No favors

Clark County building officials have said they did no favors for Kenny. They simply said computer errors allowed her to move into her home prematurely.

When asked about the home, Kenny said the media tried to turn her move into a scandal, but added that judging by her victory over Harney in the 1998 election, constituents proved they were not concerned.

"I had to stay within my district and stay within my price range," Kenny said. "We did not have as many options as a family with one or two children."

Kenny also has close ties to Silver State Disposal Inc., a company that has a monopoly on the trash-hauling business in Clark County.

It was John Pappageorge, a Silver State lobbyist on the state level, who ran Kenny's first county campaign against former commissioner Don Schlesinger.

Pappageorge and Schlesinger were at odds and Pappageorge was looking for someone capable of challenging Schlesinger. Now Kenny and Pappageorge co-host a Christmas party every year.

Kenny is also friends with Silver State President Steve Kalish. However, despite her close ties to company executives, Kenny has never disclosed the friendships or abstained from voting on Silver State issues. Recently, the board unanimously agreed to grant Silver State a 15-year contract extension expected to net $1.5 billion for the company.

Although there have been appearances of conflicts, Kenny has only been called before the state ethics board on one occasion and that case was dismissed.

Ethics issue

The ethics issue arose after Kenny voted to approve a $2.5 million office complex on Tenaya Way. At the time, Kenny's husband was one of several investors in THL Ltd. Liability Company, which was building the offices.

Kenny did not disclose the conflict and said she was unaware of her husband's investment.

Rick Workman, a candidate for County Commission in last year's primary and a resident in Kenny's district, said Kenny is always considered controversial because homeowners doubt her commitment to them.

"If you are elected to represent the people, you represent the people," he said. "She caters to those who will help her get re-elected, whether it's for the County Commission or a higher office."

Kenny won't deny controversy follows her and said her husband often ribs her about it.

But she doesn't view herself as the commissioner who is always stirring up controversy on the board. Kenny still sees herself first as a mother and second as an elected official who wants to make a difference.

"If my job as a public servant is to rubber stamp the status quo, then public service is lost," Kenny said. "I'm trying to make things better."

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