Another voting season will kick off Saturday

Diana Sahagun

Friday, March 16, 2001 | 11:54 a.m.

Early voting begins Saturday, kicking another Las Vegas election season into high gear.

Leading the pack are three incumbents who were appointed to Wards 2, 5, and 6 a little more than a year ago. They're all hoping after going through the appointment process they will be "anointed" by the voters.

A few races, though, are already decided.

At the close of filing in February, City Councilman Larry Brown was deemed the winner of the Ward 2 seat after no one filed against him. Other declared winners are: Michelle Leavitt-Fitzpatrick for Municipal Judge Department 3, Cedric Kerns for Municipal Judge Department 5, and Jessie Elizabeth Walsh for Municipal Judge Department 6.

Ward 6

Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack is being challenged by three candidates for his Ward 6 seat, one who has been busy fund-raising and has name recognition as a community activist.

Mack was appointed to the council in January 2000, after two new wards were created. He had previously served a term on the city's Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustment. Mack says his time on the boards have given him a wealth of knowledge of what planning needs to take place in the northwest, which is only 40 percent built.

A business background, owning several boutiques, has also helped him give residents faster customer service, he said, guiding them through the red tape.

In the last year, Mack said he has sent the message that the northwest master- plan will be maintained. He has approved three projects which do not conform to the northwest master plan; two schools and a fire station.

He has also helped facilitate better communication with residents and will continue preserving rural areas.

Louise Helton, a community activist, is well-known for the programs she started including Classroom on Wheels, Clinic on Wheels, Family to Family, and others.

Helton, who raised her family in the ward where she has lived for 18 years, said the constituents are going without basic services like traffic lights, fire and police stations, libraries and parks -- services which most people take for granted.

"For such a high-growth area, there is so little being done," she said.

Helton said the ward needs more follow-through and said there is a lack of commitment by Mack.

Rudy Durso, a six-year resident, is running for office without the aid of fund-raising. Durso said he won't take a penny in campaign donations to ensure he doesn't owe anyone any favors if he were elected.

Like Mack, Durso has a business background as a small-business owner. He is now retired.

"I'm a firm believer that a non-career politician can make a difference in various positions," Durso said.

Durso said he would fight to reduce property taxes, foster better relationships between homeowners and homeowner associations, and keep utilities from increasing their rates.

Doug Apolka, 39, has lived in Las Vegas for five years and has run for office before. He could not be reached for comment.

Ward 5

City Councilman Lawrence Weekly says he isn't phased by the six people running against him, many who have made unsuccessful bids for public office before. His major opponent in Bob Nolen, who was elected three times to the Las Vegas City Council in the 1980s and 1990s.

Unlike the other wards which are four-year terms, the winner of the Ward 5 seat will serve a two-year term, as required under the law so the council seats are staggered.

Weekly, 36, was appointed in January 2000 after two new wards were created, and said he and his staff have made tremendous accomplishments in a short period time.

Older parks have been renovated, street lights put up in crime-ridden areas, and new traffic signals and street improvements have been made in the last year, he said.

The Andre Agassi charter school recently opened and the council is negotiating with Urban America, LP. to develop a commercial complex in West Las Vegas.

Infrastructure needs and economic development are among the focus in the ward, which includes West Las Vegas.

Nolen says some of the improvements Weekly takes credit for began years ago. There has been a lack of effort in dealing with the homeless and the older areas, he added.

Nolen was elected three times to the council before leaving mid-term to take a position in the constable's office.

He got wrapped up in an ethics dilemma in 1997 after his employees filed a complaint against him to the state Ethics Commission.

The commission ruled that Nolen abused the public's trust by spending little time in the office and not earning his $63,000 annual salary.

Nolen said his employees filed the complaint after he refused to increase their salary, and that the commission was looking for a scapegoat to prove it was tough on officials.

He decided against running for office in 1999 when his wife was struck with a debilitating illness, but her illness has since improved and he decided to take another stab at public service.

"That fire's not out in me, I miss public service," he said.

Charles "Doc" Broadus, 81, a former boxing trainer, is a supporter of education and has run for office before.

His biggest concern is taking care of youth and senior citizens. He said the ward is lacking shopping centers, leaving residents to leave the ward for services.

Paul Holder, who has run for office before, is a 36-year resident. His main goal if elected would be to build a new City Hall on 61 acres of Union Pacific Railroad land downtown. He would also like to build a second Fremont Street Experience.

Charles Schneider, 63, a five-year resident, said he decided to run for office after getting no response from city officials when he called with concerns.

He said the streets in West Las Vegas are a wreck and more improvements are needed. He also said more focus needs to be placed on the older areas of town, which he said have been neglected.

Anthony Snowden, a frequent candidate, said the city needs to work harder to encourage businesses to come to the community and to offer tax breaks for those who do.

Snowden, who works for the nonprofit West Las Vegas Development Corp.,said there needs to be more economic development in the older parts of the ward, a struggle which has gone on for years.

Ruth Irene Spear, 53, who has run for office before, could not be reached for comment.

Ward 2

City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, 37, will fight for the seat she was appointed to in July 1999, which was vacated by former City Councilman Arnie Adamsen, who ran for mayor.

Her strongest opponent, Mark Solomon, has attacked the councilwoman's leadership, calling her a "career bureaucrat."

Boggs McDonald served as the city's assistant city manager from 1994 to 1997, citing among other accomplishments helping to create a program to track down people with unpaid parking tickets, saving the city millions.

With older neighborhoods near Rainbow Boulevard and Buffalo Drive and the new Summerlin master-planned community, Boggs McDonald said she continues to focus on and address the impacts of development as it works its way west to Red Rock Canyon.

Large volumes of traffic have wormed their way through older areas and traffic issues are a major problem, she said.

Boggs McDonald is strong on ethics, but has found herself the target of three ethics complaints in the last two weeks.

Resident Tim Lafferty, an acquaintance of Solomon, filed a city ethics complaint last week against the councilwoman relating to a trip she took last year that was paid for by Station Casinos.

This week he filed a similar complaint against her and her husband to the Secretary of State Election Division, and Henderson resident Barry Levine filed a similar complaint with the state's Ethics Commission.

Solomon, retired executive director of the Southern Nevada Culinary Training Center, has a long running history in the union organization.

Solomon, 57, also served as a Planning Commissioner and on the Board of Zoning Adjustment for two terms when he was appointed by Adamsen.

"I have an understanding of the general plan, how it affects the people that live here," Solomon said.

Solomon said there must be a concerted effort to make sure infrastructure is in place before the development comes in.

Harrison Safford admits he only got into the race on the last day of filing because Solomon had not yet filed. Had he known Solomon were running, Safford said he wouldn't have bothered.

Safford, 72, said if he were elected he would focus on children and seniors issues.

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