Behind the scenes, Wark was effective grass-roots operative

Typical Nevada voters wouldn't recognize Steve Wark's name, but he might recognize theirs.

Wark is a longtime Republican political operative with a reputation as a gifted grass-roots campaigner.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to mail and wire fraud, part of a massive case federal prosecutors are building against potentially dozens of people accused of infiltrating homeowners associations to instigate bogus construction defect lawsuits so they could direct business to lawyers and other companies that were part of the conspiracy.

Wark's name was swirling publicly in the controversy since at least 2008, but that still didn't make the news of his guilty plea any less surprising to some in the world of Republican politics.

Wark wasn't cowed by the controversy either, making frequent appearances in the news to talk politics and hosting his own radio talk show on KMZQ-radio, AM 670, for about a year, ending around May.

"I'm shocked," said former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, who worked with Wark on three successful mayoral campaigns and one failed gubernatorial primary. "He got me elected when I was nobody. He is very, very good at the math that makes up an election."

Although some, like Montandon, stood by Wark after news of the guilty plea, others in the Nevada GOP couldn't get far enough away from the controversy.

"Don't want to be anywhere near this story," one former GOP colleague said when asked about Wark.

Montandon said Wark showed his knack for being up on voter concerns during Montandon's second campaign.

During door-to-door visits, many voters complained about the lack of restaurants in North Las Vegas. Although the mayor doesn't have the power to open restaurants, Montandon said Wark suggested the campaign shift the focus to recruiting more retail and commercial development to the city.

"We used to go over every night what the people were saying and what was important to them and how should we talk to them," Montandon said.

Wark has worked in political organizations large and small going back decades, including the gubernatorial campaign of Kenny Guinn in 1998 and the presidential campaign of social conservative Pat Robertson in 1988 and as a chairman of the Clark County Republican Party.

He was known for executing some bold political stunts, notably an effort to get presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the ballot in Nevada in 2004 with the hope that the politically progressive Nader would divert votes from Democrat John Kerry and help Republican incumbent George W. Bush win the state. Bush won Nevada by 2.5 percentage points, with Nader drawing just .58 percent of the vote.

Wark also has clashed with Republicans. During his time as a party official, former state Sens. Bob Beers and Dennis Nolan each suspected Wark of working against their interests primarily because they were at odds with Wark on social issues such as abortion. As far back as 1992, Wark made waves among Republicans by agitating for hardball politics to ensure the party platform retained an anti-abortion plank.

Despite the occasional controversy, Wark remains respected in political circles.

Former Assemblyman Josh Griffin, R-Henderson, who worked with Wark on the 1998 Guinn campaign, credited the operative with creating a sharp, door-to-door vote gathering operation by breaking Clark County into about 100 sections so workers could identify with voters on highly localized issues.