Candidate moving for chance to face Kenny

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Aug. 24, 2001 | 11:26 a.m.

Esther Quisenberry is going to move for the chance to unseat Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny.

The neighborhood of the 36-year-old public relations specialist was yanked from Kenny's district late in the county's redistricting process, and pushed into Commissioner Chip Maxfield's jurisdiction.

The controversial and sudden shift, which Quisenberry believes was orchestrated by Kenny, is forcing Quisenberry to sell her home of six years and move into Kenny's redrawn district to continue her race against Kenny.

Quisenberry has lined up a real estate agent, has her house on the market and is looking for a new one.

"I like my house; this annoys me," Quisenberry said. "It's a principle thing. The people in this district deserve better representation than they've been getting."

The new boundary line runs along Desert Inn Road, abruptly dips to Twain Avenue, then back up Hualapai Way. In the middle of the abandoned precincts sits Quisenberry's home with a "For Sale" sign propped in the front yard.

Quisenberry, who met with Kenny in April and expressed interest in running for the District F seat, said all maps had her neighborhood in the district leading up to the July 4 hearing.

With the election still a year away, the redistricting debate is likely to be the first of many issues on which Kenny and Quisenberry are likely to clash.

Kenny, a two-term Democrat who has yet to announce a bid for a third, denied that the jog in the boundary is her doing. She questioned why Quisenberry was privy to draft maps before they were made public.

"She was in possession of the maps all along," Kenny said. "Somehow she was able to get the maps before they were made public, probably with help on the part of the Republican Party."

Quisenberry confirmed she received copies of the maps from the Republican Party.

Though house-hunting and fund-raising at the same time -- combined with the fact Kenny has only said she intends to run for re-election -- isn't ideal, Quisenberry is confident that uprooting her life will prove worthwhile.

Quisenberry declined to name specifically her biggest campaign contributors or how much she has raised, but she claims to have lassoed major gaming companies into her camp, as well as influential developers and attorneys.

She's not a political veteran, but she's familiar with the game.

The Clark High School graduate joined fellow alumni John Ensign, Bob Beers and Scott Scherer in a bid for a political career. She collected 21 percent of the votes in her 1998 congressional race against former District Court Judge Don Chairez. Chairez, who had 42 percent, eventually lost to incumbent Shelley Berkley.

"That was a great foundation," Quisenberry said, adding that she gained name recognition as a result of her campaign. "I have an understanding of what needs to happen as opposed to a one-issue candidate."

The Las Vegas native admits she is a "screaming Republican," and therefore has little interest in staying in her home and running against fellow conservative Maxfield, in whose district she now lives.

Being cut from her district -- combined with encouragement from community members -- fueled her interest in opposing Kenny, Quisenberry said.

"I've spent a lot of time at the county, talking to staff and people in the community," Quisenberry said. "People need better representation than they've been getting, not someone who is paid (through campaign contributions) to push issues through."

Kenny, who also expressed confidence in her chances of serving a third term on the board, said she is not bothered that Quisenberry is putting her home up for sale in an attempt to take after the District F seat.

"This is America, and anyone can run in any district they choose," Kenny said.

Steve Kanigher contributed to this story.