City Council reluctantly approves new ward structure

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Dec. 2, 1999 | 10:19 a.m.

The North Las Vegas City Council passed a controversial ordinance Wednesday that for the first time divides the city into four equal wards.

Although the vote was unanimous, several residents and council members weren't happy with the decision placed before them.

A new bill approved by the 1999 Legislature mandates that the city divide into four equal wards for the 2001 election. The Legislature, with the sole council support of Councilman John Rhodes, wanted to see representation from throughout the city on the council.

For the 2001 election, residents in North Las Vegas will continue to vote for candidates at large, but candidates will now have to live in the ward from which they run.

Under the new map, Rhodes will represent Ward 1; William Robinson, Ward 2; Stephanie Smith, Ward 3; and Shari Buck, Ward 4.

A handful of residents told council members they weren't happy with the way the lines were drawn, saying the map pitted older areas against newer areas.

Former City Council candidate Joanna Wesley told the council that she is opposed to the map because it left the older parts of town without a chance for growth or equal representation. She said all council members should have to represent a portion of the older areas.

"When you run for office, you run for the people," said Wesley, who had 22 percent of the votes in the 1997 election. "That should include an obligation to all the people in the inner-city."

Although the vote passed unanimously, Smith and Robinson spoke about their discomfort passing the ordinance.

"From the beginning, I have been opposed to this," Smith said. "I'm opposed to the fact that the people who live in North Las Vegas have never had a say in this government issue. I think this was a vote issue, and it's unfortunate the voters won't have a say."

Robinson backed Smith's comments, saying the decision to split the city into wards should have been a ballot issue.

"This is a North Las Vegas issue," he said. "I appreciate what the state government did in trying to determine the fate of North Las Vegas, but residents in North Las Vegas should have had a say in this."

Retired Wisconsin Judge Frederick Kessler was paid $15,000 to draw the ward map. He also created the boundaries for Las Vegas' new six wards.

The map, based on population numbers in the 1990 Census, would have each council member responsible for an average of 28,572 constituents. Ward 3 will have the most residents with 28,765, and Ward 4 will have the fewest with 28,426.

But the lines may have to be redrawn after the 2000 Census is complete, Kessler said. The legislation says a new map would be created if population shifts create a 5 percent disparity between any two wards.

Kessler advised the council to ask the Legislature to repeal that law.

"There's no use to go through this process every two to three years," he said.