Three NLV incumbents face stiff challenges

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

Key dates

The script for this year's North Las Vegas election reads a lot like a soap opera: A son seeks revenge on a woman who dared to challenge his mother, and another man fights to clear his name after being investigated by the police.

Throw a weatherman into the mix for good measure.

Although filings don't open in North Las Vegas until Jan. 23, incumbents are already on the campaign trail and potential candidates are popping up to challenge them.

The incumbents -- council members Stephanie Smith and John Rhodes and Mayor Michael Montandon -- are up for re-election in June and say they will run for office again.

They will run for the first time in the city's history from wards in which they live. Residents will still vote for candidates at-large, but a specific council member now will represent each ward.

Ward 3

Smith, who has served one four-year term on the council, faces at least four challengers for her seat in Ward 3.

For the second time inside a year, Smith will face off against a member of the longtime North Las Vegas Kincaid family.

In September Smith ran for the Clark County Commission against Commissioner Mary Kincaid, a former North Las Vegas councilwoman, in a campaign that included plenty of attacks from both sides.

Kincaid was victorious, and now her son, Mark Kincaid, will try to unseat Smith on the City Council. Running his campaign will be Paragon Communications, which helped elect Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown and District Judge Michael Cherry.

The younger Kincaid, who initially hinted at plans to run for mayor of North Las Vegas, said he changed his mind after discussing the idea with Montandon and others.

"I felt it was a wiser move to just not try to bite off more than I can chew," he said.

Mark Kincaid, who has run numerous campaigns, including his mother's, will now leave the strategies to an outsider, something he admits will be hard to swallow.

Smith could not be reached for comment.

North Las Vegas Planning Commissioner Anita Wood and Tony White, a former North Las Vegas city employee who ran for City Council in 1997, also are weighing a run for the Ward 3 seat, as well as KLAS-TV Channel 8 weatherman Mark Pfister.

Pfister said Friday he has been seriously considering a campaign for City Council for the past three to four months, but is not sure how a run for office would affect his job as a weatherman.

"One of my main challenges is I have never been in politics before, so I don't know the beast it can be," he said. "And at a local level, you have to have a full-time job. One of the things that might preclude me from running is I don't think I would be able to work at the TV station and still run."

Pfister has been a resident of North Las Vegas since 1997, residing in the Eldorado master-planned community.

"It's something I would like to do, because this community has been so good to me," he said. "I would like to do something more than, 'Hey, it's going to be sunny and hot today.' "

Ward 1

Two-term Councilman John Rhodes faces at least one challenger to his Ward 1 seat, but his most formidable foe is likely to be the allegations against him of insurance fraud and fraud against the city.

The state attorney general's office has filed two cases of felony insurance fraud against Rhodes -- a total of four charges -- relating to claims he made after two alleged burglaries of his home.

Deputy Attorney General Greg Hojnowski said if the two cases are consolidated, a trial will not likely take place until after the primary race. Rhodes' next court date is Jan. 18 before District Court Judge Michael Cherry, who will hear a motion by Rhodes' attorney to dismiss the second set of insurance fraud charges.

District Attorney Stewart Bell also is considering charging Rhodes with a count of fraud against the city, after the North Las Vegas Police Department investigated whether Rhodes claimed city-owned property as his personal property.

Rhodes said he is moving forward with running for re-election, but would not comment on the status of his campaign or say whether he has begun fund-raising. Rhodes, who was the only council member to support splitting the city into wards, said this year voters will notice a difference.

"You'll see an election that talks more about issues and what those issues mean to the quality of life of North Las Vegas, as opposed to just being a popularity contest," he said.

Rhodes said if voters bring up the indictments, he will address their concerns head-on.

Former Planning Commissioner Robert Eliason, who ran an unsuccessful bid for City Council in 1997, has said he will try to unseat Rhodes.

And former North Las Vegas City Councilman Theron Goynes may toss his hat in the ring as well. Goynes said last week he has been approached by voters and urged to run against Rhodes, and he is considering a campaign.

Goynes was a North Las Vegas councilman for almost two decades before losing the 1997 mayor's race to Montandon. After a four-year absence, Goynes said he misses politics and believes he can bring his experience back to the city.

Goynes called the allegations against Rhodes "a cloud on the city."

Goynes commended the current council and applauded new projects and changes that have come about, but said he has grown concerned with the infighting between members.

"I've watched the changes in the city," he said. "After 36 years as a resident, 20 years in government, I can see the changes, and I feel with the experience I have that I still have something to offer."

Mayor

So far, possible candidates for mayor have been scarce. Montandon, though, has begun fund-raising and spending campaign money.

His recent Christmas card, sent out to residents, was paid for by "Montandon for Mayor."