All School Board members turn back challengers

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 9:57 a.m.

Clark County School Board incumbents Shirley Barber, Denise Brodsky, Ruth Johnson and Mary Beth Scow were swept back into office Tuesday, each winning her race by a margin of more than 25 percentage points.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, the largest landslide was in the District E race, where Brodsky finished with 44,701 votes, winning a third, four-year term. Mortgage broker and first-time candidate Ryan Devins had 16,388 votes.

Brodsky, 45, who spearheaded efforts to limit junk food sales to students, was first elected in 2000. She said raising overall student achievement and ensuring teachers and staff have the resources and support they need are among her priorities.

Barber, 69, won a third term as the District C representative to the board, defeating Las Vegas employee rights attorney Richard Segerblom.

Barber, a retired principal who has sought to place more limits on the authority allotted to the district's superintendent, had 25,881 votes. Segerblom, making his first bid for public office, had 10,499 votes.

Johnson, seeking a third term in the District B seat, won with 41,450 votes. Her opponent, casino manager Troy Bulloch, had 25,071 votes. Bulloch ran unsuccessfully against Johnson in 1996 and 2000. Johnson, 44, said she would work to ensure the district's $3.5 billion capital plan remained on time and on budget and did not neglect older schools in need of renovations.

In the District A race, Scow -- the mother of nine children and a longtime community volunteer -- took 52,976 votes, defeating local businessman Isaac Farrell, who had 28,032 votes. Scow, 51, said during her third term she will focus on improving the School Board's efficiency.

Devins and Farrell ran unsuccessfully as part of the "Operation Education" slate, which vowed to revamp the School Board's management style and replace Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia. The two other slate candidates -- running against Barber and Johnson -- did not advance beyond the September primary to Tuesday's runoff.

While Devins made regular appearances at School Board meetings and events in the months leading up to the primary, he has been largely absent from the public scene since finishing a distant second to Brodsky in September.

School Board members oversee a $1.7 billion operating budget. Board members are paid $80 per meeting with the president and clerk receiving $85.