Rhodes loses council seat

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

Several North Las Vegas City Council members who stayed neutral during Robert Eliason's campaign against eight-year incumbent John Rhodes are now calling his victory a milestone for the city.

They broke their silence Tuesday night at Eliason's victory party and welcomed him onto the City Council.

"It's going to be great," City Councilwoman Shari Buck said. "Now we can focus on moving ahead and putting the past in the past."

City Councilman William Robinson said that he had grown tired of the infighting he has seen in recent years and that Eliason's victory by a margin of almost 2,000 votes will be a change for the better.

"Robert is the kind of person who's not going to be wheeling and dealing," Robinson said. "He is what this city needs."

Mayor Michael Montandon and City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith also showed up to congratulate Eliason. Smith also was the only council member to be seen at Rhodes' campaign headquarters.

Eliason received 4,528 votes, 61.21 percent of the total cast. Rhodes received 2,869, or 38.79 percent.

Of the city's 37,635 active voters, 19.6 percent, or 7,397 people, turned out for the election.

When the polls closed at 7 p.m., the numbers showed Eliason with a clear majority, with just five out of the 40 precincts reporting. A roomful of Rhodes' supporters, including Mohave High School Principal Andre Denson and attorney Uri Clinton, sat around his headquarters at 3925 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., nervous after the councilman failed to show up until after 8 p.m.

Rhodes was holding out hope, but conceded his loss shortly after 9 p.m.

A few miles away at Eliason's house, near Civic Center Drive and Tonopah Avenue, the celebration resembled a rambunctious family picnic. Well-known officials including Clark County Commissioner Chip Maxfield and North Las Vegas Judge Warren VanLandschoot attended.

Eliason was speechless after his victory. In the June 1997 general election, he lost to Rhodes by just a few percentage points.

"The people want honesty and integrity, and they've shown that," Eliason said.

Rhodes' campaign was clouded by felony charges of insurance fraud and a police affidavit that alleged that Rhodes had submitted a city-purchased Palm Pilot as part of a personal insurance claim.

A Sun story on Oct. 11 uncovered the Palm Pilot receipts both in Rhodes' city expense reports and on the insurance claims. No charges were filed over the personal organizer.

While Rhodes declined to speculate on what led to his loss, other supporters offered their reasons.

The Rev. Gary Hunter said it was blatant racism by residents who wanted to get a white candidate in office. Rhodes is black.

He also chided Eliason for "negative campaigning." Eliason, in one of his campaign mailers, used headlines from Sun and Review-Journal articles that had reported on Rhodes' felony indictments.

"All of us have faults, skeletons in our closets," Hunter said. "What's to say (Eliason) doesn't have trunks of skeletons in his? John has served his community well."

Others said that religion played a part and that the city was trying to push a Mormon agenda. Eliason is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as is Montandon, Buck, and Smith. Rhodes' supporters accused people of handing out early-voting ballots at church.

Rhodes has two final City Council meetings before Eliason is sworn in June 27.

Rhodes still has to face three felony charges of insurance fraud. A status check on the cases is set for later this month. Rhodes has maintained his innocence.

After spending almost a decade in politics, Rhodes said he needs some rest before he decides if he will take another stab at running for public office.

"I will continue to make a positive impact in the community," Rhodes said. "No matter what my title, I'm going to be working for the community, just like I did before I had the title."

Just days before the polls closed, accusations were flying from both camps and from residents.

North Las Vegas resident Evie Kenny filed a letter with the city clerk's office last week, asking for an investigation of Rhodes, alleging he is not a resident of Ward 1, a requirement of his candidacy.

Supporters from Eliason's camp struggled to dispute several of Rhodes' fliers, which were sent out throughout the election, saying his accusations against Eliason were inaccurate.

Eliason, who started out his campaign saying he would not get into Rhodes' legal troubles, changed his tune after April's primary, when neither candidate secured a majority.

He built his campaign on the pillars of "truth and honesty," bringing up Rhodes' legal troubles as evidence that it was time for a change to the council bench.

Rhodes led Eliason in fund-raising, but Eliason got some help along the way with the endorsement of the third-place winner in April's primary election, Theron Goynes.