Heat will be on candidates in Ward 2 special election

Sito Negron

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 | 11:50 a.m.

It's as if nature and the Las Vegas City Council played a bit of a joke on the candidates for Ward 2, handing the dozen hopefuls an election in which walking the precincts in 100 degree-plus temperatures might be the key to winning.

"The people who vote are going to be the people who have a real desire to see that person on the seat. Walking, calling your Christmas card list ... if I know 20 people, and each one gets 20 people to vote, that's how it's going to work," political consultant Terry Murphy said.

The election is June 22, the day after the official start of summer, and Murphy said "people won't be thinking of voting on that day, no matter what."

Larry Lomax, Clark County elections registrar, said Monday that slightly more than 35,000 people are registered to vote in Ward 2, a number that would not change by much as voter registration forms mailed by Saturday, the last day in which people could register, trickle in.

Voters have until June 15 to request an absentee ballot. Early voting is June 18 and 19.

Political insiders have said that it's impossible to predict the number of voters, but most don't expect more than 3,000 to 5,000, with the winning candidate getting less than 1,000 votes.

Some candidates -- notably Steve Wolfson and Ric Truesdell -- already have sent out glossy mailers.

"To get information out early, get the name identification and all that, is good," Murphy said. "But the overwhelmingly most important factor in this will be getting people you know motivated to get out and vote."

Candidate Steve Greco, a member of the Summerlin North Homeowners Association board, attempted to do that by contacting people on the board's mailing list and was reprimanded by the board on a recent 4-2 vote.

Greco said the incident reflected nothing more than a personal clash, stemming from such issues as his opposition to homeowner association initiatives to ban artificial turf from lawns, his promotion of an open bid policy, and his push to change the board's meeting hours so it's more accessible. He also noted that the board has no written policy forbidding the use of its mailing list.

Such issues are coming more to the fore as the race heats up, and more campaign material becomes available for critique.

Truesdell, chairman of the Las Vegas Planning Commission, and Wolfson, a lawyer whose wife is District Judge Jackie Glass, both have managed to distribute campaign material, enhanced by the help of experienced political hands.

One of Wolfson's mailers, however, created controversy because it showed him in front of Red Rock Canyon, with words referring to "special interests" and "the wrong project," a reference to a proposed hotel tower near the entrance to the federal park.

Wolfson was not involved in the fight against Station Casino's plans for a tower as part of Red Rock Station. One of Wolfson's opponents, Gabriel Lither, was considered a leader of the opposition to the tower.

Wolfson's flier "may come back and bite him," Murphy said.

Wolfson said that his point was that he would, if elected, fight for the future of Red Rock. "I was not insinuating at all that I was involved in the battle before ... the purpose of the mailer was to let the Ward 2 residents know the preservation of Red Rock is very dear to me."

Lither said the Red Rock issue is key to the Ward 2 race. While Wolfson sent mailers touting his commitment to protecting the natural wonder, Lither said, only one candidate can claim to have walked the walk on the issue.