Planning board chief eyes City Council

Denise Cardinal

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 10:18 a.m.

Las Vegas Planning Commission Chairman David Griego said he is thinking of running for City Council in the 1999 elections.

"I've sat on the commission for three years, and I think when you drive around to the properties involved, you get a good feeling of what the growth issues are for the city," he said.

Griego said he won't be making any decisions about the race until he moves. And right now, he's looking into relocating from Ward 2 to Ward 1.

If he does move into Ward 1, Griego might be facing a race against City Councilman Michael McDonald, who was recently voted into the position of Mayor Pro Tem.

McDonald, who has talked about running for mayor in 1999, said he doesn't know what he'll do yet.

"I'll wait to see what the mayor (Jan Laverty Jones) does," he said. "If she decides she doesn't want to run, then I'll talk to my political consultant Sig Rogich about it. If she does run, then I won't -- we're too good of friends."

Jones is halfway through her second term and hasn't decided whether she'll be running for mayor again. She said she's surprised there's already talk of the 1999 races.

"I like David," Jones said. "He's a great commissioner. But I haven't even thought a bit about City Council races. They aren't for 18 months."

Griego is the manager of the investment recovery department for Nevada Power Co.