NLV: Despite revote, Blake still underdog to win seat

Lisa Snedeker

Friday, May 21, 1999 | 10:58 a.m.

While Thursday's municipal primary election revote in two North Las Vegas precincts secured City Council candidate Marcia Blake's place on the general election ballot, she remains a long shot to win one of two seats June 8.

Blake retained fourth place with a total of 1,220 votes, compared to fifth-place vote getter Ron Long, who received 1,148. Incumbents William Robinson and Paula Brown earned 2,181 and 1,844, respectively. Planning Commissioner Shari Buck held onto third place with 1,386.

Blake, a 26-year-old women's shoe department manager, beat out Long, a 39-year-old partner in a landscaping business, in the May 4 primary election by a mere two votes.

"It's over," Long said. "There will be no appeal, no recount. We've offered our congratulations (to Blake). Of course, we're disappointed, but we feel good about what we've done."

City Attorney Richard Maurer called for the revote after two voting irregularities were discovered in the May 4 primary election results because two candidates were separated by two votes and Long had requested a recount.

Of the 561 people that were eligible to vote in the affected precincts, only 400 turned out and 76 of those cast their votes Monday through Wednesday during early voting at City Hall, said City Clerk Eileen Sevigny.

"I was hoping for 475, but you are never going to get everybody back to the polls," she said.

A false bomb threat at Cheyenne High School -- the polling place for precinct 4005 -- closed the voting booths there for about an hour and a half, Sevigny said. She said because there was a 12-hour span alloted for the polls to be open at the school, "an hour and a half should not be a significant deterrent for anyone to vote."

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said the polling place was not affected.

"The machines and ballot cartridges were not compromised in any way, and we are continuing to receive and assist voters in the precinct," Lomax said in a release Thursday afternoon.

It was the early voters that helped earn Blake 83 more votes than she had garnered May 4. Long only earned 13 additional votes Thursday.

"I was really surprised because I thought I would only win by 20 votes," Blake said. "What saved us was early voting. I beat Ron by one vote at Lincoln (elementary school), but he beat me 82 to 77 at Cheyenne (high school)."

Blake attributed her strong showing to knocking on doors and making calls, a strategy she will continue to use in the days leading up to the general election.

"It's worked for us," she said. "If you can get to the people, you make them feel important. It takes a lot of time and energy, but hard work pays off."

The City Council is scheduled to validate the results of the May 4 primary and Thursday's recount today at 4:30 p.m. at a special council meeting. As long as no irregularities are found, Sevigny said she and Maurer will recommend the council validate the election.

Candidates have three days following the election's certification in which they can request a recount.

If there are no further recount requests, early voting for the general election is scheduled to begin Monday, Sevigny said.

The cost of the revote, which will be the responsibility of the city, has yet to be determined, Sevigny said.

Only 17.5 percent of the city's registered voters turned out for the May 4 primary.