LV muni judge campaign lingers in near obscurity

Bill Gang

Friday, May 30, 1997 | 11:44 a.m.

The campaign for Las Vegas Municipal Court judge has taken on a certain stealth quality, with no great controversies and little public interest evident.

The candidates, incumbent Judge Gregory Barlow and challenger Cedric Kerns, are concerned that this could result in even more stealth voters in a year when some primary election precincts reported single-digit turnouts.

The problem is compounded in much of northwest Las Vegas, where this is the only race on the ballot because City Councilman Arnie Adamsen won his contest in the primary election.

At least the main campaign issue isn't in question -- both candidates are running on Barlow's record.

The incumbent has touted his experience from eight years on the bench as the reason to return him to office while Kerns has charged that Barlow's performance during those years doesn't justify re-election.

Kerns, 31, has hammered on Barlow's perennially low ratings in surveys of attorneys appearing before him.

Although Barlow, 49, won the primary election, he is faced with the reality that more than 60 percent of the turnout voted against him.

The tally was 39.27 percent for Barlow to 33.8 percent for Kerns. Up for grabs is the 26.93 percent that went to the third candidate, attorney Nicholas Del Vecchio.

"It's extremely close," Kerns predicted, noting that the difference may be who gets out the vote.

Barlow, who said he has been endorsed by police organizations, unions, conservative groups and senior citizens, told how he has been walking the precincts and has been emphasizing the need for voters to go to the polls.

Kerns is expected to keep attacking Barlow during the waning days of the election, emphasizing the attorney surveys in last minute ads.

Kerns also has alleged during the campaign that Barlow has been using his office staff and city stationery and stamps for campaigning, in violation of an edict by city administrators.

Barlow has denied misappropriating city funds or property, although he conceded that his office phone number is on his campaign literature because his chambers "is where I am and where I'm expected to be."

Barlow, who was a deputy attorney general and deputy public defender before becoming judge, states in campaign literature that he "believes in an efficient court that speeds, not impedes, the process of justice."

Kerns, who promises to bring courtesy, integrity and experience to the bench, is a 1989 graduate of UNLV and a 1992 graduate of the University of San Diego Law School.