Next step in Moncrief recall effort set

Dan Kulin

Monday, Dec. 6, 2004 | 9:14 a.m.

The effort to recall Las Vegas Councilwoman Janet Moncrief continues to move forward as the Clark County Election Department planns to begin verifying signatures on the recall petition on Wednesday.

If enough signatures are found to have come from registered voters in Moncrief's Ward 1, the city clerk would be called on to set a date for a recall election, which Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said could be scheduled for late January.

Lomax said his office counted 2,711 signatures on the petition turned in Nov. 23 by a group that is now supporting a potential challenger to Moncrief.

Election Department staff will begin checking a random sample of 500 signatures 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Election Department office at 965 Trade Drive, near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue. Lomax said it will take probably two to three days to check the signatures.

At least 2,106 of the signatures need to be from registered voters in Ward 1 to force a recall election. Whether or not the petition meets that minimum is first determined by extrapolating the total number of valid signatures based on the sample.

In this case, a recall election will be scheduled if at least 77.7 percent of the 500 signatures checked are from registered Ward 1 voters. If that percentage is between 69.9 percent and 77.7 percent, then the county department will be called on to check all of the signatures. If less than 69.9 percent are determined to be valid, there will not be a recall election.

Lomax said his office has until Dec. 15 to check the 500 sample signatures and inform the secretary of state of the results.

Once the secretary of state determines there are enough valid signatures to force a recall election, Lomax is informed and he in turn informs the city clerk to schedule the election. Ten to 20 days after that, the clerk announces the date of the election, which must be within 30 days of the clerk's announcement, City Clerk Roni Ronemus said.

Lomax said nominating petitions to put other candidates on the recall ballot would be required to be turned in at least 20 days before the recall election.

So far, Vicki Quinn, an activist who has fought for increased access to public buildings for the handicapped, and former Clark County School Board member Lois Tarkanian have announced they intend to be candidates on a recall ballot, if there is one.

Quinn has the backing of the citizens group that filed the recall petitions.

To get onto the ballot, a candidate would need nominating petitions signed by at least 2,106 Ward 1 registered voters -- the same number needed to force a recall election.

Also, a political group is reportedly working to put City Council Ward 5 liaison Kelly Benavidez on the ballot even though Benavidez has said she doesn't want to run.

Those behind the recall effort have said they are unhappy with Moncrief because she has failed to block unwanted development and faces criminal charges for allegedly filing incorrect campaign finance reports.

Moncrief has been quick to point out that she voted against a proposal for a Social Security building -- the project most often referred to by her opponents as an example of her inability to block development.

Moncrief also says she is innocent of the charges against her, adding that those charges could be thrown out during a Dec. 15 court hearing.

Another group of residents that filed an intent to petition to recall Moncrief turned in a petition with one signature on it on Tuesday.