Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Raid a blow to McDonald campaign

Being linked to an FBI political corruption investigation was the last thing Councilman Michael McDonald needed two days before the start of early voting.

McDonald was outpolled 48 percent to 44 percent by newcomer Janet Moncrief, a registered nurse and surgery center director, in the primary election.

Now, just as McDonald was beefing up his campaign in hopes of retaining his seat in the June 3 general election, the FBI included his name in a search warrant, saying it was looking for information about any payments to him or other politicians from the Galardi family, owners of Cheetahs and Jaguars strip clubs as well as clubs in San Diego.

On Wednesday FBI agents served search warrants in Las Vegas and San Diego in connection to the federal investigation. Clark County Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and former commissioners Dario Herrera, Erin Kenny and Lance Malone and three San Diego councilmen were named in the warrant. No one has been charged.

McDonald, who said he worked as a consultant for Michael Galardi, said he is cooperating with law enforcement officials and papers his attorney received suggest he is not a target in the investigation.

"I have nothing to hide," McDonald said. "I'm very confident I did nothing wrong."

McDonald did not say what he did for Galardi, whom he has called a friend from high school, and referred questions about his work for Galardi to his attorney. McDonald's attorney, Richard Wright, was not immediately available.

McDonald is the only Nevadan on the list currently up for re-election.

"This was probably not (McDonald's) best day," said Ted Jelen, chairman of University of Nevada, Las Vegas' political science department.

"Usually under most circumstances this is too late for a scandal to have a big effect on a campaign, but this (scandal) is so sexy. It's going to have a very rapid penetration into public opinion."

Jim Ferrence, McDonald's campaign manager, said though the raid doesn't help the McDonald camp, he will not change his approach, which has been marked by an effort to get McDonald supporters who stayed home during the primary out to the polls this time around.

"The thing that is most frustrating is the timing," Ferrence said. "It's beyond peculiar that this investigation was launched two days before early voting. There's no way it can be a coincidence."

Special Agent Daron Borst, the FBI's Las Vegas spokesman, said the proximity of the raid to the pending election was not a consideration.

"I'm not naming anyone in particular but no individual's campaign was taken into account," he said.

Ferrence also said that he expects McDonald's opposition and political enemies would use the FBI investigation against him.

He said he had no doubt that McDonald's detractors "will immediately get to work putting out the attack mailers."

"I hope the fact that (McDonald) is fully cooperating and willing to open his books to the FBI shows he has nothing to hide and will mitigate any negative effect this would have as far as his supporters," Ferrence said.

Moncrief said she has no plans to use the incident against McDonald, nor is she celebrating any victories just yet.

"It has nothing to do with Ward 1 and what I stand for," Moncrief said. "People will read the articles on their own and come to their own decision. I don't take anything for granted and I will walk the ward to the last day and meet as many people as I can. His ethics problems and his relationship to different strip joints in the past, those are his problems and have nothing to do with me."

McDonald first ran for office in 1995 against then-incumbent Frank Hawkins Jr. and 13 other opponents. McDonald made it to the general election against Hawkins won with more than 60 percent of votes.

McDonald was re-elected in 1999, defeating four challengers in the primary by taking more than 50 percent of votes.

Shortly after his re-election, McDonald fell into political trouble. He almost immediately butted heads with Mayor Oscar Goodman, even secretly taping a private meeting with Goodman in 2000. The incident infuriated Goodman who called McDonald "a piece of garbage" and a "sleaze ball."

Goodman says he now supports McDonald.

McDonald also faced his ethical scandal during that time. He was cleared of a malfeasance charge in 2001.

The charge came after McDonald worked behind the scenes urging his council colleagues to buy the financially troubled Las Vegas Sportspark. The northwest Las Vegas facility was owned by McDonald's employer, Larry Scheffler, at Las Vegas Color Graphics. McDonald abstained on the actual vote.

A city Ethics Review Board and the state Ethics Commission ruled that McDonald broke ethics laws but imposed no sanctions.

McDonald says he walked the ward after his ethical battles and apologized to his constituents.

"People had a lot of questions about the system," he said this week. "But I never encountered anyone who was negative or confrontational."

The ethics hearings, along with the Goodman comments, were the subject of several mailers used against McDonald in the final weeks of the primary.

The most damaging, though, was a flier which stated that McDonald doesn't support unions and attempted to use his party affiliation against him in a nonpartisan race. That mailer was not attributed to any of McDonald's opponents.

"What we've encountered going door to door is that union members got that flier and were confused," McDonald said. "The members of the carpenter's union are now out with us walking they were so upset about it."

McDonald's camp has suggested that Moncrief was behind the mailers. Ferrence filed a complaint with the Secretary of State's office saying Moncrief, primary candidate Peter "Chris" Christoff, along with former Stratosphere owner Bob Stupak and political consultant Tony Dane were the masterminds and financiers behind the mailers.

Moncrief called the allegation was a desperate attempt to try to smear her name.

"I have never sent anything out that was negative," she said.

Veteran political strategist Don Williams said though things look grim for McDonald he's certainly not out of the race just yet.

"Conventional wisdom would be that he would be toast," Williams said. "But if it's a close enough race then a real heavy old-fashioned get-out-the-vote campaign could make the difference. But he would have had to start that voter identification program immediately after the primary."

McDonald has done just that. He has been walking door-to door and reaching out to get his people to the polls.

"We all love him," said ward resident Joanne Bullington, 64. "He's such a nice guy and he's very good to everyone here."

Moncrief has also been walking the ward. She said she gets a different tale from the people she encounters, such as Ray Kirtley, 71, who said he hasn't seen McDonald on his street in eight years, Moncrief said.

Joe Triscari, 41, also said he's never met his councilman.

"I'd rather have you than him any day," Triscari told Moncrief. "There have just been too many controversial things going on the past two years."

archive