Former NLV mayor Seastrand dies

Monday, Nov. 3, 1997 | 9:49 a.m.

Former longtime North Las Vegas Mayor James Seastrand, who helped bring his city out of the shadows of Las Vegas and make it a growing community with its own identity, has died. He was 68.

Seastrand, who served 16 years as mayor and six more as a councilman, collapsed Sunday night after speaking at a meeting of the Clark County chapter of the National Council of Christians and Jews at the Baha'i Center on Oakey Boulevard. He died at Columbia Sunrise Mountain View Hospital.

Services are pending for the 39-year North Las Vegas resident who retired from office in July.

Among his many accomplishments, Seastrand helped open the vast northern valley to development in the 1980s by pushing for Pardee's Eldorado planned community.

"It was a tremendous financial gamble at the time -- and if it had failed, it would have cost Jim his political career," said former North Las Vegas City Councilman Brent Hardy, a longtime friend and area businessman. "It was bonded for $18 million and we ran sewer lines out to the desert hoping for the best.

"The community has lost a soft-spoken man of vision who never deviated from what he thought was the right thing to do. I'm going to miss him very much. He always encouraged up-and-coming young people to get into politics and try to make a difference."

A devoutly religious man, Seastrand spoke Sept. 22 at the funeral of 99-year-old Las Vegas musician Anthony Franchini, telling mourners about the 1,000 years of peace that would occur after Christ's next coming, and how generations of families would be reunited in heaven for eternity.

Seastrand, who served as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake president and regional representative, authored the church book "Journey to Eternal Life and Distractions Along the Way."

He also chaired the Las Vegas Temple Building Committee. In recent months, Seastrand strongly considered going on a Mormon mission with his wife of 44 years, Rosel.

Born June 24, 1929, in American Fork, Utah, Seastrand served as a captain in the Air Force in the 1950s and was a Korean War veteran. The Mormon chaplain later served as chairman of the Nellis Air Force Base Civilian Military Council.

Last year, the six-term mayor was honored by his alma mater, Brigham Young University, for his long community service as a businessman and public official. A 1954 graduate of the college in Provo, Utah, Seastrand earned a degree in marketing and business administration.

A past president of Vegas Village Shopping Corp., Seastrand was first elected mayor in 1980. He was named Nevada Public Official of the Year in 1990.

Under Seastrand, the population of North Las Vegas doubled, more than $100 million was spent on downtown redevelopment since 1990 and more than 100 subdivisions were under construction at one point in the mid-1990s.

"We have worked hard to change our (North Las Vegas') image and it is paying off," Seastrand told the SUN in a Feb. 21, 1994, news story. "We have some of the best land values in the state."

Seastrand chaired the Lake Mead Hospital board and persuaded the facility's operators in the early 1990s to stay in the city. He also was a member of the Nevada Seniors Aging Commission and the Nevada Development Authority Executive Board.

In September 1996, Seastrand failed in a bid to replace retiring Clark County Commissioner Jay Bingham, losing a Democratic primary to then-North Las Vegas Councilwoman Mary Kincaid, the eventual winner.

Seastrand was a longtime Boy Scout leader, and earned the Silver Beaver Award.

At his last council meeting in July, Seastrand admitted he would miss the job, noting: "It's sad not to have the chance to serve the people anymore. I liked having the opportunity to help people and make things happen."

In addition to his wife, Seastrand is survived by a daughter, Pamela, and three sons Scott, Douglas and Russell Seastrand, and 15 grandchildren.