Ferraro, Nix top campaign spenders in final days

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 | 8:45 a.m.

The two incumbents on Boulder City's June 3 ballot greatly outspent their opponents during the most recent campaign finance reporting period, which spanned the 10 days leading up to Election Day and the following four weeks.

But the spending paid off only for incumbent Mayor Bob Ferraro, who was re-elected by 18 votes, while Bryan Nix lost his bid for a third term on the Boulder City Council. Both spent about $17,000 from May 23 to July 3, according to reports filed with the City Clerk's office.

Roger Tobler, who was elected to the Boulder City Council along with Karla Burton, was the third largest spender during that period with campaign expenses of $3,792.

Meanwhile, Ferraro's opponent, former Councilman Bill Smith, reported spending $1,265, of which $1,140 went to himself to repay a loan to his campaign.

Campaign spending and fund-raising were generally slow for candidates in North Las Vegas and Henderson during the same May 23 to July 3 reporting period.

Both cities saw their 2003 elections end in the April 8 primaries, and only newly elected Henderson Municipal Judge Douglas Hedger and re-elected North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson showed significant activity on their campaign accounts.

Hedger raised $13,150 and spent $24,544, according to campaign finance reports.

Hedger said he mailed fund-raising letters after the campaign because he needed to cover campaign related bills he knew were coming. Hedger's expenses included $24,000 to Alpha Communications, which Hedger said was a consulting firm that advised him during the campaign.

Hedger defeated John Provost, who had been a judge since 1996. Provost reported no money spent, raised, or left in his campaign account, like most of the other losing 2003 candidates in the three Las Vegas suburbs.

Robinson, who won a sixth term on the council, raised $36,450 and spent $31,520, according to his report.

The contributions to Robinson included at least $15,000 from casinos. His expenses included several payments to individuals, which were identified as staff expenses, special event costs, or miscellaneous expenses.

Robinson did not return a telephone message left at his City Hall office Monday, and calls to his home were not answered Monday.

The campaign finance reports also showed several incumbents still have hefty campaign war chests available for future elections.

North Las Vegas Councilwoman Shari Buck ended the reporting period with $94,314 in her campaign account. Buck, who was re-elected to a second term on the council, is reportedly considering a run for the Clark County Commission.

Henderson City Councilman Steven Kirk, who won a second term on the council without appearing on the ballot because no one filed to run against him, had $145,500 in his campaign account.

Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, now in her third term on the council, ended the reporting period with $54,437 in her campaign account.

Henderson Councilman Andy Hafen, who won a fifth council term, showed a campaign account on the opposite end of the spectrum. Hafen ended the period with a negative $150 balance in his campaign account.