NLV prepares for election changes

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Dec. 11, 2000 | 11:22 a.m.

Just edging past the one-year anniversary of the city breaking into wards, North Las Vegas is drafting election changes that will go into effect in May.

Last December, the City Council reluctantly approved an ordinance that for the first time in the city's history divided the North Las Vegas into four equal wards.

Although the council and mayor fought the measure, the Legislature in 1999 passed a law mandating that the city divide into the 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.

As in Henderson, residents in North Las Vegas will continue to vote for candidates at-large, but next year candidates must live in the ward from which they run.

Council members Rhodes and Stephanie Smith, along with Mayor Michael Montandon, have terms that expire in May.

To remain consistent with the city charter, the city clerk and city manager have proposed several changes to the election code. An amendment to the election ordinance is planned to be voted on by the council later this month.

Prior to the ward split, candidates for mayor, judge and council were required to live in the city for six months before filings closed.

Council candidates in 2001 have to live in the ward in which they are running for 30 days before filings close. Candidates for mayor and judge have a six-month residency requirement.

Another significant change is the increase in filing fees to $100, up from $25.

City Clerk Eileen Sevigny said the fee increase puts the city in line with Las Vegas and Henderson, which also charge $100. The revenue collected in North Las Vegas goes directly to the general fund.

Although the city hired retired Wisconsin Judge Frederick Kessler for $15,000 to draw the ward map last year, numbers from the 2000 Census could force the city to change the boundaries.

According to city charter, ward boundaries must be changed whenever population from the most recent census have created a disparity between wards by more than 5 percent. While the map was created based on a population of approximately 114,000, the city has jumped to at least 120,000 people.

Montandon, though, said it is too soon to tell if the lines will have to be changed, and he doubts the wards will have to be redrawn before the 2001 election.

"Hopefully we drew them, and the idea is that Judge Kessler drew the wards so they will grow fairly consistently," he said. "Wards 3 and 4 will probably grow faster, but we don't have any idea where the population is going to come in."