Kincaid battles Davis for Bingham’s former commission seat

Jeff Schweers

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

In the Democrat corner: a seasoned North Las Vegas councilwoman who says she has helped shape policy to reduce this city's crime rate and boost its economy.

In the Republican corner: a former North Las Vegas Municipal Court judge kicked off the bench for ethical violations who says his opponent has allowed crime and economic disparity to grow.

When the bell rings, you can always expect these two candidates for the County Commission District B seat to come out fighting: Councilwoman Mary Kincaid, 58, a petite florist, and former judge Gary Davis, 47, a robust nursery owner.

Their battle for the seat being vacated by Jay Bingham after 12 years is even a grudge match in a way: Kincaid ran unsuccessfully against Davis 10 years ago in a judicial election.

Davis views Kincaid's record of 17 years on the North Las Vegas City Council as ripe for attack, especially when it comes to crime.

"My opponent claims she's cleaned up crime and crime has gone down," Davis said. "But North Las Vegas has the 7th highest crime rate in the nation and the highest crime rate in the state of Nevada. I don't think that's a good scenario."

Davis said the City Council has rendered a special crime fighting unit, the Nasty Boys, ineffective, but when he was a judge, he made sure criminals got the full sentence.

Kincaid defended her track record, saying that she has helped reduce crime by increasing the North Las Vegas police force and that the Nasty Boys, or the city's SWAT team, still exists.

"The North Las Vegas crime rate has decreased," Kincaid said. "Our crime rate is similar to other parts of the valley."

Kincaid also said the council during her tenure has diversified local government and created 6,000 new jobs.

And then Kincaid tweaked her opponent by reminding him of the ethics violation: "At least I wasn't removed from office against my will."

Davis has appealed the ruling by the Judicial Discipline Commission last December that stripped him of his judgeship of 16 years, claiming the board's action is unconstitutional. He is waiting for a ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court.

"This was not a court," Davis said. "I feel they didn't have any legal right and their conduct was outrageous."

Both feel that the county has two major successes: the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the McCarran International Airport, both money-making entities that collect millions in tourist revenues.

But the two differ on major issues.

* Where Kincaid would like to see better management of the county's growth, Davis thinks developers should be allowed the freedom to respond to the marketplace.

Kincaid: "I'm concerned about the mix of zoning. I'm concerned about orderly growth."

Davis: "I believe in a market growth system. Let the market take you wherever you're going to go."

* Where Davis sees the County Commission playing a greater role in school district policies, Kincaid says the commission's role is limited.

Davis: "We can help decide where schools are built by cooperating with school district. We can push for vocational training. Not everybody is going to college."

Kincaid: "There's not much of a role the County Commission can play, except I do feel there are times when your zoning should include school sites, even if you have to buy the sites."

* Where Kincaid would like for hotel room taxes collected by the Convention Authority to help pay for roads in the resort corridor, Davis thinks that money is for the gaming industry to decide how best to use.

Kincaid: "I think there should be some provision in state law to allow part of the taxes to be spent on solving traffic problems on the Strip. If they put a monorail on the Strip, why couldn't the room tax pay for that?"

Davis: "Let the hotels decide. The LVCVA is set for tourism, the hotels have members on the board. If that's what they want to do, let them."

* Where Davis says a single gaming district proposed by city officials can help reduce taxes for city residents, Kincaid doesn't want to see residents in the unincorporated county having to pay to reduce city taxes.

Davis: "You have to have equity. You can't let the well-heeled receive all the benefits. We all live in this county together. If the facts come down that this is what has to happen, then this is what you do."

Kincaid: "So are they going to share in all the expenses if they share in the taxes? I don't see how they can do that if they're not going to share in the expenses."

Davis and Kincaid are so contentious they don't even agree what the biggest problem is facing Clark County.

"Crime is the number one problem," Kincaid said, citing polls by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and other groups. "Most people are concerned about burglaries in their neighborhood, car theft. The public feels less safe than 10 years ago."

Davis said the county's water supply should be the top priority.

"Water is the single most critical issue this valley faces," Davis said, suggesting that water officials haven't explored using gray water for industrial uses and warning that water rates could become astronomical.

About the only thing they agree on is that more money needs to be spent to address the district's traffic problems.

For both, the race boils down to their commitment to their constituents, or more aptly, what they perceive as a lack of commitment. And you can always count on both to get in their last jabs in the final rounds.

"I lay blame on the mayor and the council," Davis said. "Their job to make sure we get our share, and they haven't been doing that."

"Gary has a gift; he's very charismatic," Kincaid said. "But it's unfortunate that he has not used that gift to the benefit of the community."