Cities critical of bill requiring special elections

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 10:09 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Representatives of cities statewide spoke out Tuesday against an Assembly bill that would require them to hold special elections to fill vacant council seats with at least a year remaining on their terms.

Assemblyman Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, proposed Assembly Bill 59 to require special elections instead of political appointments to those seats.

Collins, who lobbied unsuccessfully for a vacant seat on the Las Vegas City Council in 1999, said his bill was aimed in part at ridding the politically-charged and "backroom politics" of the appointment process.

"They should be willing to grant that opportunity to the voters," Collins testified before the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.

Dan Musgrove, a lobbyist with the city of Las Vegas, said the current state law that gives cities the choice to appoint or hold a special election works just fine.

"They ought to have the right to make the decisions on a local level," Musgrove said.

Cities statewide estimated huge costs to them if they are required to hold special elections. In Las Vegas it would cost between $85,000 and $95,000.

Tom Grady, executive director of the Nevada League of Cities, estimated it would cost Boulder City $30,000, Winnemucca $10,000, and $8,000 in both Fallon and Mesquite.

"All of these cities oppose this because of the cost," Grady said.

North Las Vegas Assistant City Manager Michele Richardson said special elections would cost $130,000 in her city. Lobbyists from Sparks and Reno estimated the cost at $100,000 for each of those cities.

Collins also faced something of an inquisition from his Assembly colleagues, who grilled him on everything from the timetable to hold such an election and the cost to local governments.

Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, asked Collins why his bill only addressed cities and not all local government bodies.

Kathy Van Tobel, R-Las Vegas, was the most critical, at one point stopping just short of recommending the bill be killed.

"If you're still going to have the appointment process, to me it doesn't really matter how long that person is in office after the appointment," Von Tobel said.

Collins' bill allows city councils to appoint people to vacant seats provided there is less than a year until the next general election.

Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, said she thought holding a special election would give constituents more voice in government because elections require the filing of financial disclosure documents.

John Lee, D-Las Vegas, whose district covers City Councilman Michael McDonald's ward, said that while he had concerns about the timelines for special elections, he agreed with the bill's intent.

"If my city councilman left, I know I would have prejudiced councilmen who would choose the replacement," Lee said.

Collins said the impetus for his bill came from the 1993 appointment to the Las Vegas City Council of Ken Brass to fill the unexpired term of Bob Nolen, who left to become constable. Brass remained in office for a little more than two years before being soundly defeated at the polls by Gary Reese.

Reese, now mayor pro tem in Las Vegas, sent a letter of support for Collins' bill to the committee.