Commissioner known for consensus building seeks re-election

Jeff Schweers

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A smooth County Commission incumbent with a gift for consensus-building has been challenged by a independent activist who's been a thorn in the county's side for years.

Republican Bruce Woodbury, 51, is seeking a fifth term in District A seat, which includes Henderson, Green Valley and Boulder City.

His opponent is Independent American Lee Wayne Haynes. Until this summer, Haynes was a regular at County Commission and Regional Transportation Commission meetings, arguing for the rights of seniors and the disabled.

Woodbury said he has tried talking to Haynes about his concerns, but to no avail.

"It's just hard to talk to him," Woodbury said. "He didn't seem interested in working anything out and as much as said he preferred an adversarial relationship."

Haynes could not be reached for comment.

Woodbury, a Stanford law school graduate, has been practicing law in Clark County since 1970. He was first elected to the County Commission in 1981. Since then, Woodbury has helped craft blueprints for the regional flood control and traffic systems, the Clean Air Action Plan and the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights.

Woodbury said he'd like to see completion of the master transportation plan, which is financed by revenue from a 1990 ballot measure providing $712.6 million for road improvements.

"I just want to make some of these things happen sooner than they might have otherwise --the monorail, expediting the beltway and our entire transportation system," Woodbury said. "I still feel I have a strong contribution I can make to the community."

Woodbury said he has no specific plans beyond serving on the commission another four years.

"I'm not sure I want it badly enough to go for governor or senator. You have to want that in a really big way," Woodbury said. "This is enough impact on my family and business to do this."

One thing Woodbury wishes he had been able to accomplish was to keep the valley's growth at a more moderate rate, although he said the county's land use guides have kept growth in the unincorporated areas lower than in surrounding cities.

"The only thing to moderate growth would be to place a moratorium on hotel-casino growth, and I don't know how you could do that," Woodbury said. "So I've given up slowing it down and focused on how to meet the challenge of growth with infrastructure and master planning."