Eliason trails Rhodes in fund raising for council race

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 10:06 a.m.

North Las Vegas City Council candidate Robert Eliason has raised less than half the money garnered by his opponent, according to campaign fund-raising reports.

Eliason will challenge North Las Vegas City Councilman John Rhodes in the general election June 5. Neither candidate received a majority of the votes in the April 3 primary election and were forced into a run-off.

According to the campaign report, filed at the North Las Vegas city clerk's office Wednesday, Eliason has raised $34,500 since the primary election. The report details campaign contributions and expenditures from the days leading up to the April 3 election and thereafter -- March 23 to May 24.

Rhodes raised almost $70,000 during the same two-month period.

Eliason has raised $59,700 during the campaign; Rhodes has raised $167,100.

During the two-month reporting period, Eliason, a land surveyor, received $7,750 from builders, including Del Webb, KB Homes, Olympia Land Corp., Pageantry Inc., Pardee Construction, Perma Bilt Homes and Real Homes.

Other construction-related companies, including Frehner Construction and Plaster Development, gave $4,500.

The family of Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey gave Eliason $500. The donation was made through the commissioner's North Las Vegas flower shop.

Eliason also has strong backing from law enforcement, picking up donations from both the North Las Vegas and Las Vegas police unions.

The North Las Vegas Police Officers Association, which endorsed Eliason, contributed $2,000; the Las Vegas Police Protective Association gave $1,200. The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1607 contributed $500 to Eliason's campaign.

Local casinos also donated money to Eliason, though not as much as they gave his opponent. Coast Resorts contributed $2,500 to Eliason, and Stimson Enterprises, which proposed a casino on the Craig Ranch Golf Course, contributed $500. Eliason received $10,000 from casino companies during the first reporting period.

Rhodes, who has accused Eliason of having ties to casinos, received $10,000 from El Cortez, $7,500 from Station Casinos and $300 from Fort Las Vegas Casino during the two-month reporting period.

Eliason has spent most of his $60,000 raised on advertising and has spend all but $5,000 heading into the general election.

He also paid nearly $8,000 to Magellan Research, a firm that conducts polls for various ballot questions and races in the Las Vegas Valley. Poll results have not been released by the Eliason camp.

Rhodes, on the other hand, has spent the bulk of his money on staff, advertising, and office supplies for his campaign office at 3925 N. Martin Luther King Boulevard. He has nearly $30,000 remaining.

Rhodes' highest paid staff members are Brooks Compton and his mother, Shari Compton. The pair was involved in a controversial campaign when Brooks lost to former County Commissioner Paul Christensen in the 1996 Democratic primary.

The Nevada Ethics Commission slapped the Comptons with the maximum penalty allowed under state law -- $5,000 each -- for conspiring with Shaughn Daily in filing a frivolous complaint against Christensen.

The Comptons have been paid almost $24,000 by Rhodes during the campaign.