Challengers to Boggs McDonald emerge

Thursday, April 1, 2004 | 11:36 a.m.

Just one day after Gov. Kenny Guinn named Lynette Boggs McDonald to the Clark County Commission, the Las Vegas councilwoman faces some potential challengers in the fall election.

Assemblyman David Goldwater and state Sen. Mike Schneider, both Democrats, said they are leaning toward filing for the District F seat that Commissioner Mark James is leaving this month.

Tim Cory, a Republican whom James narrowly defeated in 2002 for the nomination for the seat, said he is considering making another run.

Also considering a run at the position is district resident John Sheehan, a Rhodes Ranch homeowners association board member who battled the county's granting of commercial zoning to developer Billy Walters last year on land adjacent to the subdivision. Sheehan said he does not now have a party affiliation.

All of the potential candidates say that they will focus on land-use issues, issues that James spotlighted during his 15-month tenure on the commission. Those issues have been among the most contentious during James' tenure and that of his predecessor, Commissioner Erin Kenny.

James opposed thousands of new homes planned by developer Jim Rhodes for an area adjacent to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. He also pushed for a compromise on the design of the Red Rock Station casino planned by Station Casinos.

Schneider, a home developer, said he understands the issues because of his experience with the industry.

"I'm probably one of the most qualified people in the state to look at development issues," he said. Land-use planning, particularly "in-fill" development inside the existing urban area, should be a priority for the county, Schneider said.

"We're going to have to look at the in-fill. We're going to have to go vertical. We're going to have to have better mass transit and better roads."

He said the county needs to do more to get in front of the rapid population growth and development that is hitting District F hard.

"Instead of playing catch-up, we have to get ahead of the curve now," Schneider said.

He said the discussion recently started by James and commissioners Rory Reid and Bruce Woodbury on growth issues could play a role in tackling those development issues, but not by cutting growth itself.

"There's only two things that will stop growth in this valley: water and taxes," Schneider said, adding that there will likely be water for continued expansion and Nevada will likely remain a low-tax state. "The only thing you can do with growth is to get out in front of it."

Cory said Wednesday that he is considering a race against Boggs McDonald, whom he could face in the primaries in September.

"I'm holding all my options open," he said.

Land-use issues are "absolutely critical to residents of District F," said Cory, who worked to limit the height of the Red Rock Station casino during the protracted fight at the county building.

Land-use reforms championed by James, Reid and Woodbury "were very welcome and very much appreciated," he said, "and very important to me personally."

A potential front-runner among the Democrats to challenge Boggs McDonald could be Democrat David Goldwater. He said he supports "reasonable growth, not unbridled or a green light to everything.

"You want to learn from the places that seem to be working well, and learn from the place that aren't working as well," he said.

Goldwater said he is "98 percent of the way" to declaring his candidacy for the post. He could pick up significant support from labor unions, which helped pull James over the top in 2002.

Sheehan, a 26-year veteran of the Air Force, has been concerned about the lack of a park or golf course next to his Rhodes Ranch community. He was active in the debate over the issue last year in the county commission chambers.

He said too many commissioners have to recuse themselves from votes on land-use and zoning issues because of associations with developers.

"I don't think any commissioner should have to recuse themselves from any decision, ever," Sheehan said. "I would be a full-time commissioner."

He said Boggs McDonald's membership on the Station Casinos' board of directors could remain an issue.

"Her past association -- does she forget her association when she votes in the future? That's what concerns people," Sheehan said.

Boggs McDonald, who said Thursday that she moved into District F a week ago but previously lived in the district for most of the 1990s, said she knows that land-use issues are important in the fast-growing district.

Her ward in the city also was one of the fastest growing with a 19 percent population rise in less than five years. Land-use issues were "90 percent of what I had to do as a city councilwoman," she said.

She said that unlike some recent controversies in the county, the issues in the city rarely sparked protests by masses of upset residents.

"I've dealt with major, major projects that had neighborhood impacts to them," Boggs McDonald said. "I've been able to get major projects through the pipeline at City Hall because we engage the homeowner associations in the beginning of the process, not the middle or the end.

"It's about dialogue and engagement, and that's how you should listen and lead," she said.

Boggs McDonald said she would soon embark on a series of community meetings to hear the concerns directly from neighborhoods.

Dan Hart, a Las Vegas political consultant, said Boggs McDonald will be the front-runner in the November election -- but she can't coast to victory.

"Clearly, anybody who is the incumbent has the advantage, but it is a Democratic district," he said. "Lynette Boggs McDonald has received some Democratic votes before."

Hart agreed that the land-use issues that have galvanized many residents in the district will likely be important in the upcoming election, although he added that Boggs McDonald may not wish to focus on those issues because of her previous association with Station Casinos.

He said a Democratic advantage among registered voters in the district by a 44 percent to 37 percent margin may not provide significant help to a Democratic challenger.

Generally, land use and gaming "are not partisan issues," he said. "Generally speaking, county commission races have not been terribly partisan.

"It depends on how the campaign is defined," Hart said. "It depends on how partisan it gets."

But if the Democrats put a significant effort into the district, the impact could be felt throughout the state and potentially throughout the nation in a presidential election year. Hart noted that Nevada's four electoral votes in the 2002 presidential contest provided George Bush's margin of victory.

Locally, Goldwater could be the one to benefit most if the Democrats seriously challenge Boggs McDonald, Hart said.

"David Goldwater is much more of a traditional Democrat than Mike Schneider," he said. While both would be strong campaigners, a traditional Democrat would be better at energizing the party faithful and bringing them out to the polls, he said.

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