Letter: Atkinson Gates needs to refocus

Monday, Aug. 26, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates' continued push of moral legislation is befuddling to me. I'm a proud nine-year resident of District D (Commissioner Atkinson Gates' district), and I am dumbfounded by her determination to push through the "lap dance" ordinance.

Las Vegas is marketed on the lure of being an adult playland, as if the nickname "Sin City" didn't give it away. If these adult clubs are ignoring or even promoting prostitution, then those clubs should be shut down and/or dealt with criminally. What truly disgusts and angers me is that if Commissioner Atkinson Gates desires to witness prostitution, drug dealing and murder, she needs look no further than her own district streets.

Her service as our county commissioner, now in excess of eight years, has led to little resolution regarding the social ills that plague her constituents on a daily basis. I wish she would refocus her energy and recognize the plight of her citizens' largely impoverished district and save some lives. Sometimes, however, in the reaching for political stardom and spotlight, individuals of power have forgotten where their feet should be planted.

DANIEL CONTRERAS