Cory quits county race, backs Boggs McDonald

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 10:52 a.m.

A Republican challenger to Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald dropped out of the race Monday and pledged his support to the incumbent.

In exchange, Boggs McDonald said Tim Cory, who came close to unseating former commissioner Mark James two years ago, would be the chairman of a new citizens group she is forming to take input from her constituents in District F.

The two said working together they would be better able to solve the issues affecting the fast-growing district -- and would be more likely to defeat the Democratic challenger in November.

"I've found great success at City Hall by having lots of town meetings, having round-table meetings," said Boggs McDonald, who until last month was a Las Vegas city councilwoman. "Having a similar organization with Tim as a chairman will help me be successful as a commissioner in one of the most diverse districts in the county."

She said the advisory group would be permanent and would include about a dozen people from the diverse parts of her district, which include rural areas around the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and the fast-growing urban areas of the southwestern Las Vegas Valley.

Boggs McDonald was appointed in March by Gov. Kenny Guinn to replace James. She still faces a lesser-known Republican challenge for the September primaries, from political outsider John "Rob" Bishop.

Assemblyman David Goldwater, a Democratic front-runner for the position, said the Cory-Boggs McDonald alliance did not worry him. He also gave a thumbs-up to the concept of a citizens advisory group.

"I think it's great," he said. "More citizen input is better."

While conventional political wisdom says it's usually better to have an opponent spend financial resources during the primary, rather than the general election, Goldwater said Cory's withdrawal would not change his campaign.

"I'm running to preserve the quality of life for my district," he said. "It doesn't matter who's on the other side."

Cory said he believed he could have won "in September and November, and I still feel that, but Lynette and I have been friends for years. We felt that our both running would unnecessarily drain resources and cause discomfort among our mutual supporters."

Cory said that as a member of Boggs McDonald's citizens panel he could continue to work for smaller government and to avoid "the calamity of government making decisions" that adversely affect business.

The incumbent said she and Cory shared concerns.

"When you share the same outlook, share the same values, why not work shoulder-to-shoulder with that person rather than going on a collision course?" Boggs McDonald said.

Cory "would have been a formidable challenger in this campaign," she said, adding that she was "proud to have him on our team and thrilled to have him working with us to improve the quality of life in District F."

Boggs McDonald said she would select "key stakeholders" in her district to make up the rest of the panel and begin to have meetings with the group in 30 to 40 days.