3 constable races contested in valley

Art Nadler

Thursday, Oct. 22, 1998 | 12:06 p.m.

The Las Vegas Township constable's race is pitting Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. Robert Gronauer against Tom Savage, a retired chief of police who moved to Southern Nevada in 1996.

Gronauer, 51, who goes by "Bobby G," is running on a platform of making the constable's office "user-friendly." He plans to make official forms and other information available on the Internet. He also wants to hire a staff and deputies who are bilingual.

Gronauer, a Democrat, has been in law enforcement for 29 years.

Savage, 60, is touting his 20 years in law enforcement as his greatest asset.

He has been on the board of directors of the Maryland Police Training Commission, is a past president of the Fraternal Order of Police and a past president of the Eastern Shore of Maryland Police Association.

Savage, a Republican, is stressing that he will guard the public's trust and uphold the integrity of the constable's office.

Henderson

Earl Mitchell, 41, feels his experience as a constable for four years makes him the best candidate for the Henderson Township office.

Mitchell, a Republican, believes his more than 12 years in law enforcement will enable him to understand and maintain the integrity of the constable's office. He feels he also has a good rapport with the Henderson Police Department and pledges to save clients money when doing official duties.

J. David Burress, 43, his opponent, is a longtime Las Vegas resident. He is a retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer and a graduate of UNLV.

He believes the constable's job is to serve the Justice Court. He says he'll use every means of human and social services possible to carry out his duties.

Burress, a Democrat, wants to be a full-time working constable and run the office more efficiently with less cost or no cost to the taxpayer.

North Las Vegas

The North Las Vegas constable's race will determine whether the Clark County Commission was right in its choice to replace Lou Tabat, who retired from the post this year.

The commissioners picked Herb Brown, a former U.S. district marshal for the District of Nevada in 1994-97. He was also a member of the North Las Vegas Police Department, where he served as assistant chief.

Brown, a Democrat, was selected over Steven Bergstrom, a Republican. Now Bergstrom, 45, is running against Brown, 57.

Brown feels his experience in personnel management, budget containment and a knowledge of Nevada's laws are his greatest attributes. He feels he is restoring credibility and integrity to the office.

Bergstrom is pledging to make the constable's office financially independent from taxpayer subsidies. He feels his opponent is part of an administration that has caused North Las Vegas to have the highest crime rate in Clark County. He says he'll introduce programs to effectively fight crime.

Others

Other constable races include:

Larry Miller, Republican, running against independent candidate Lon Itson in Goodsprings.

Al Campbell, Democrat, running against Duane Thurston, Republican, in Mesquite.

Gary Leavitt, Republican, running against Shari Lyman, Libertarian, in Moapa.