Ferraro, mayor for 23 years, faces challenge from two

Jace Radke

Thursday, April 22, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

Mayor Robert Ferraro is a name that Boulder City residents expect to see on their election ballots every four years.

Serving his fourth term as the city's mayor, Ferraro this time around has two challengers for his job -- Councilman Bill Smith and Councilman Robert Kenneston.

Ferraro has been a member of the Boulder City Council since 1976 when he was appointed to the post to fill in for a retiring council member.

"I moved to Boulder City in 1970 and joined the Rotary Club and then one of the councilmen retired and recommended me," Ferraro said. "I thought, 'Wait a minute, I don't know if I want to get involved with this,' but I've been here ever since."

As a rookie councilman, Ferraro soon discovered that he liked the job and now, 23 years later, says he still gets the same enjoyment he did when he started.

"I found that I enjoyed being in a position to help people and there is a good feeling and a gratification I get from helping someone," Ferraro said. "It just turned out that the City Council was the perfect place for me."

Ferraro, 63, was born and raised on a ranch in Winnemucca before attending college at the University of Nevada, Reno. The experience of growing up in a small town has paid off in his ability to govern Boulder City, whose citizen's cherish the small-town lifestyle.

"I'm very much aware of the small-town atmosphere that is at the core of Boulder City, and I think that has helped me in being responsive to citizens, which I see as one of my strong points," Ferraro said. "I've gotten the 2 a.m. phone calls about barking dogs, and other calls about all manner of things, but I believe that's the responsibility you assume with this job."

Boulder City resident Dick Benton says Ferraro's willingness to take time out for the citizens is one of the reasons he'll vote for the mayor.

"He has the experience and is forthright, but it's the human touch and concern for the citizens that really impresses me," Benton said. "I talk to him all the time about all kinds of issues and he always stops and takes a minute to talk to me."

Ferraro sees the next four years as important ones for Boulder City as it continues to balance growth with a small-town mentality.

"We grew about 2 percent last year, which isn't much compared to other Southern Nevada cities but it's still growth," Ferraro said. "People live in Boulder City because it's a small town and that is our mindset, but the community needs to be aware of the fact that 25 miles away is a metropolis."

Some have questioned whether Ferraro is too close to the interests of Las Vegas and Henderson, but the mayor says that while interaction with Southern Nevada's other municipalities is a key part of being mayor, Boulder City still comes first.

"Maintaining a good rapport with the leaders of the other Southern Nevada cities is important, and something I think I've been good at," said Ferraro, who serves on the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Authority. "The good relationships that have developed have gained respect for Boulder City on the other side of the hill."

The traffic that continues to pour through Boulder City coming up from Arizona heading to Las Vegas is a problem that Ferraro says will come to a head in the next four years. Ferraro is in favor of a by-pass freeway around the city, but adds that it needs to be properly signed so that those that who are not in a hurry and want to go sightseeing in Boulder City may do so.

If elected, Ferraro says he will continue to work at keeping Boulder City clean and green. During his time as mayor the city has started a program of planting 15,000 trees in an attempt to return the city to its green past.

"Boulder City was envisioned as a green city with many trees, but a number of those original trees were lost to old age and were not taken care of," Ferraro said. "We are trying to get back to that image of a clean, green Boulder City."

Ferraro has supported locating the state veterans home in Boulder City, and the recently completed downtown streetscape project that renovated downtown's streets and sidewalks.

"He's a good man that does what's best for the city," said Eloise Blue, a Boulder City resident who has known Ferraro for 20 years.

Despite his strong feelings for the job, Ferraro says that this election will be his last, as he wants to spend some more time with his wife and three children.

"I feel very strongly that this is the most outstanding small community in the state, and I like to think that I've been a part of building that," Ferraro said. "I'd like to continue to be a part of that for the next four years."