Three incumbents pull off victories

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2002 | 9:05 a.m.

Incumbents were victorious in three local constable races Tuesday night, with Robert "Bobby G" Gronauer in Las Vegas, Earl Mitchell in Henderson and Herb Brown in North Las Vegas remaining in office for another four years.

Las Vegas

Gronauer, a Democrat, won 54.9 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Tom Savage in the race for Las Vegas constable. Savage received 45.2 percent of the vote.

Gronauer was elected Las Vegas constable in 1998 after 30 years as a Metro Police officer. He was chosen as Constable of the Year 2002 by the National Constable Association.

Savage, a retired chief of police, spent most of his career in criminal investigation. He ran against Gronauer in the 1998 general election, losing by a margin of six percentage points.

Henderson

Capturing 49.3 percent of the vote, Mitchell won a race that was a bit more interesting than expected.

One of the three candidates, Independent American Nicholas Alexander Hansen, was barred from the race in District Court and then reinstated by the Nevada Supreme Court in a dispute over his qualifications and age.

Hansen, who turns 21 in February, received 4.4 percent of the vote.

Democrat John J. Cahill, a retired juvenile parole and probation officer, received 46.2 percent of the vote.

This will be Mitchell's third term in office after working more than 16 years as a Henderson Police officer. That department endorsed him.

North Las Vegas

Brown, a Democrat, won with 56.5 percent of the vote. Republican Steven L. Bergstrom checked in at 43.4 percent.

Brown was a North Las Vegas Police officer for 22 years and has also been a U.S. marshal.

Brown's ethics were called into question in 1997 when he was investigated in connection with a District Court judge who was indicted on corruption-related charges. Brown was found innocent, but was asked to resign from his post as U.S. marshal.

He was also fined $10,000 in 1999 after the Ethics Commission found he misled voters in a case that involved fliers about Bergstrom. Brown challenged the fine, and it was later reduced to $500.