Henderson homeowners groups issue warning

Jeffrey Libby

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 10:31 a.m.

A small group of Henderson homeowners associations upset by city zoning decisions says it will most likely watch the 2001 re-election campaigns of Mayor Jim Gibson and Councilman Jack Clark from the sidelines.

After a meeting Wednesday, the group decided that the 12 weeks left before the primary municipal election on April 3 would not allow enough time to mount a serious challenge.

The mayor's seat and the seat for the Ward 3 City Council member are the two seats up for election. Official filing for the seats opens Jan. 23.

"It will be especially tough to dislodge Gibson as mayor," said Ann Adam, president of Sunridge at MacDonald Ranch Community Association. "The mayor is a citywide election and he's got a lock. He's got an ongoing broad base from long-term family connections. So how are you going to bust that?"

Part of the problem for a challenger, Adam said, is that many new residents are unfamiliar with local election laws.

Many haven't learned yet that a candidate can win the election in the primary by taking 51 percent of the vote, Adam said. By the time the general election rolls around on June 5, the race is cold, Adam said.

Gibson won his freshman term as mayor in 1997 by taking 52 percent of the vote in the primary election. Only 20 percent of registered voters went to the polls.

To improve voter participation, Adam intends to locate key people from other area associations to build support over the next several weeks.

No centralized list of homeowners associations exists, Adam said.

Her group of four associations represents about 1,300 homeowners.

Karen Sexton, president of the Sandy Ridge Estates Community Association, said she expects the group will find support throughout the city.

On too many occasions in the recent past the City Council has looked to the interests of developers before those of residents, Sexton said.

"The zoning is changed almost every two weeks -- when the Planning Commission and the City Council meet," Sexton said. "So unless you're Houdini and can figure out what a particular piece of property is going to be zoned, you have no protection."

Political newcomer Jesse Horne, 30, a computer systems analyst, said earlier this week that he plans to challenge Clark for Ward 3.