City needs to keep mix in politics

Tuesday, April 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

LAS Vegas councilmen have walked into a political minefield in their plan to realign ward boundaries.

The new boundaries, drawn ostensibly to accommodate population growth, have raised the ire of West Las Vegas residents who fear they'd be lumped with deteriorating neighborhoods on the east side.

They're specifically angry at Councilman Michael McDonald, who they say is trying to remove West Las Vegas from his constituency. The councilman denies the charge, insisting he has worked hard on West Las Vegas projects and wouldn't have done so, if he had such a plan in mind. McDonald points to several projects intended to improve the business climate, including Magic's Westland Plaza and the Moulin Rouge.

Where McDonald and the rest of the council may be getting into trouble is in combining low-income areas that have separate representation. Under the proposal, they would have only one council position, cutting their clout in half.

The proposal also would combine neighborhoods of differing ethnic backgrounds -- black and Hispanic and others -- and would tend to dilute the voice of each group. The council ran into similar criticism about three years ago when Ken Brass was named to a vacant seat, over the objections of members of the Hispanic constituency.

The NAACP has issued its own plan that would keep West Las Vegas in a separate ward along with a variety of other neighborhoods, including the upscale Scotch 80s.

The resolution to this problem probably lies at the Legislature which can expand the membership of the council. Adding two seats on the council would be appropriate in light of the increased population. Otherwise, each councilman's constituency will continue to swell beyond manageable proportions.

But it will be another year before the Legislature can act.

In the meantime, NAACP proposal seems more reasonable than the council's version, in that it preserves a good economic mix in Ward 1 and keeps eastside Ward 3 intact. The council's version, on the other hand, would needlessly isolate low-income areas.

Las Vegas needs greater unity among residents of all ethnic backgrounds and income levels, not less. Any proposal to insulate one group from other will not achieve that goal.