Three Ross votes noted in filing

Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross should have disclosed a conflict of interest or abstained from voting on many items that have come before the City Council, according to an ethics complaint.

The complaint filed with the Nevada Ethics Commission this week states that Ross, a union official, has violated a state law requiring elected officials to avoid conflicts between public and private interests.

It singles out three votes: approving a proposed casino at Kyle Canyon Road, supporting a proposed new city hall and backing a contract for a highway interchange at Horse Drive and U.S. Highway 95.

It was filed by Ward 6 residents Tyson Wrensch, Steve Hecht and Reneè Lella. All three declined to comment Friday, saying they wanted to see what the Ethics Commission did before discussing the matter.

Gary Gray, Ross' campaign manager, said he hopes the complaint does not advance.

"I'd be very disappointed if the ethics committee went forward," he said. "You file something like that and for the rest of the campaign you can say, 'My opponent is under investigation by the Ethics Commission.' "

Ross is running for re-election and faces Jennifer L. Taylor, an attorney who co-founded a smart growth group called Northwest Residents for Responsible Growth. She and the other co-founder, Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, have criticized many developments that Ross has supported.

Taylor has said she is not involved with the ethics complaint. Mayo-DeRiso has been open about both her support for Taylor and for her assistance in filing the complaint, which does not bear her name because she's not a Ward 6 resident. She lives in an unincorporated "island" surrounded by the ward, she said.

As witnesses, the complaint names City Council members Steve Wolfson and Lois Tarkanian, Mayor Oscar Goodman, City Attorney Brad Jerbic, Public Works Director Jorge Cervantes, and several lawyers who presented the relevant business to city leaders. All were present for the debate and vote on each item.

The 1,700-acre Kyle Canyon project would have put homes, shopping, offices and a casino on the southwest corner of U.S. 95 and Kyle Canyon Road. The developer defaulted on loans, however, and the property went into foreclosure.

The proposed $150 million city hall has been controversial for a number of reasons, and has faced several council votes as it proceeded.

Ross did publicly seek legal advice about a conflict at the most recent vote, which took place in front of a room packed with out-of-work members of Laborers Local 872 who were hungry to work on a new city hall. Jerbic said that because the project hasn't gained final approval and isn't a guaranteed union job, Ross could vote on it.

The Horse/U.S. 95 interchange bid was awarded to Capriati Construction, a nonunion contractor. Ross and the rest of the council recently voted to uphold that award after it was challenged by Frehner Construction, a union-listed contractor.

Ross is secretary-treasurer for the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council, which among other activities promotes using union labor.

He went to the Ethics Commission before he sought the post, and was told that while holding that position and a council seat isn't an automatic conflict, he would have to tread very carefully. Ross says he's done just that and hasn't used his council position to help his union constituency.

His critics dispute that.

"This ethics complaint asserts that Councilman Steve Ross has not (heeded) the insightful advice of the Ethics Commission and has in fact not disclosed nor abstained as he should have," the complaint states. "Councilman Ross not only provided benefit to his private commitments, but he failed to disclose and abstain when and where appropriate."

There was no need for him to do so, Gray said, and he wouldn't need to unless there was a clear union issue and he was going to be key to the vote.

"If Steve were granting something that is clearly going to be a union contract, and he was the deciding vote, that might be a time to abstain," Gray said. "But when the other six members of council are already voting in the affirmative, Ross is not going to swing that."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.