‘Anti-Malone feeling’ benefits Maxfield

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2000 | 11:23 a.m.

Seven months ago Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone had a healthy war chest and no opponent vying for his District C seat.

On Tuesday evening he was mulling over what he will do after he leaves office in January following a stunning loss by 24 percentage points to Republican opponent and political unknown Chip Maxfield.

Less than an hour after primary election polls closed, the pace of the evening was set when Maxfield took a 14 percentage point lead over Malone.

Soon after, Maxfield stood amid supporters delivering his victory speech. Maxfield, founder and co-owner of Southwest Engineering, collected 62 percent of the votes compared with Malone's 38 percent.

Though he was confident he could take advantage of Malone's mistakes and win the race, Maxfield never expected to see a blowout unfold on live news programs.

"I'm very surprised," said Maxfield, whose voice quivered with emotion as he thanked his family for walking door-to-door in the extensive northwest district. "It's the first step in a long road and I'm anxious to get going."

Maxfield will face Democrat Lois Tarkanian in November's general election. Tarkanian cruised through her primary, gaining 71 percent (8,145) of the votes.

Tarkanian said this morning that Maxfield's victory confirmed what her camp had expected all along.

"This was not a surprise to us. We've been going door-to-door and there was such an anti-Malone feeling," Tarkanian said. "But we hope the race centers on the issues. I think people are tired of recrimination. I think they want someone they can trust."

While Tarkanian, wife of former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and three-term Clark County School Board member, has more name recognition, Maxfield has proven that he has support in District C.

Malone's camp didn't have any idea how much support. Inside his campaign headquarters Tuesday, Malone's camp had barely uncovered a table full of food when the first election results were broadcast, killing the mood.

Malone knew he was in for a close race after he was targeted by two major former campaign contributors -- Station Casinos Inc. and the Howard Hughes Corp.

Malone irked Station Casinos when he promised executives he would vote against a competing casino and changed his mind at the last minute. Two weeks after the controversial decision, Democrat George Togliatti -- Malone's sole opponent at the time -- dropped out of the race without realizing that vote would prove tragic for Malone.

Station Casinos threw money at Maxfield, who has yet to discuss issues in the northwest but said he believes in ethics and integrity in government.

Malone upset Howard Hughes Corp. when he delayed the construction of a Las Vegas Beltway overpass. The incumbent said he has no regrets; he did what his constituents asked him to do.

"I always wanted to represent my constituents," Malone said. "We would not be bought by special interest groups to the point that we fell behind tonight."

Malone raised $670,207 but was able to collect only 5,691 votes. In the end, Malone spent about $118 per vote. Conversely Maxfield raised $108,468 and received 9,403 votes; he spent about $11 per vote.