Biologist to compete for commission post

Monday, Sept. 20, 1999 | 1:42 a.m.

Republican Bruce Woodbury has not yet announced whether he will seek a sixth term on the Clark County Commission, but already he has a challenger -- retired biologist Larry Paulson.

Paulson, 54, has volunteered recently to serve on a number of water quality boards, but now he has decided to try public office because he wants to change the way Southern Nevada treats its wastewater and surface runoff that pours into the area's drinking water supply in Lake Mead.

"It's something I did not start out to do," Paulson said.

Paulson's main concern is water quality. As a biologist at UNLV, he tested the Las Vegas Wash, Las Vegas Bay and Lake Mead for years, until the Las Vegas Valley Water District, city of Las Vegas and Clark County took over the job.

"I'd like to issue a challenge to Commissioner Woodbury that we decide this campaign on the depth of the issues and not the depth of our pocketbooks," Paulson said.

Woodbury's District A includes Boulder City and Henderson, where Paulson lives.

Woodbury, 54, was elected to his seat in 1980 and took office in 1981. "I haven't made a final decision yet," he said Friday. He said he expects to announce his plans by the end of this month.

In his five terms Woodbury has championed transportation improvements, flood control, air quality and regional planning.

An attorney in Clark County for 29 years, Woodbury was instrumental in shaping the Clark County Master Transportation Plan, funded by a combination of taxes approved by voters in 1991. The first legs of the Las Vegas Beltway, part of the plan, run through his district.

And he helped support a flood control program funded by a quarter-cent sales tax that became effective in 1989.

He also crafted the county's taxpayer bill of rights, which prevents the commission from raising taxes without voter approval.

"Of course, I would hope to follow through on those things," Woodbury said.

For Paulson, who describes himself as "a farm boy out of Minnesota," the future of Southern Nevada rests on better handling of water runoff as well as rebuilding wetlands in the Las Vegas Wash.