Incumbents pull out wins

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 9:56 a.m.

Clark County Commission Chairman Chip Maxfield successfully overcame a pair of complaints to the state Ethics Commission and a slew of related accusations and allegations to hold on to his seat representing District C, which includes much of Summerlin and the county's northwest area.

Maxfield, the Republican, took 57,749 votes, 54.6 percent, to best Democratic challenger Jerry Tao, who received 48,107 votes, 45.4 percent, according to complete but unofficial results from the County Election Department.

Even in a particularly tough election season, Tao's campaign stood out. Citing a lawsuit and ethics complaint filed by a Las Vegas businessman who was denied commercial zoning in a residential area three years ago, Tao raised allegations that Maxfield had demanded money from the businessman and was the subject of a "federal racketeering investigation," among other charges.

While the first ethics complaint stemmed from Maxfield denying a zoning change that was contrary to the master plan for a neighborhood in his district, the second was generated by his approval of a master-plan change and his son's engagement to a developer affected by the approval.

Tao is a Clark County deputy district attorney. He was not immediately available for comment.

Maxfield said his success was proof that negative attacks don't always win elections.

"This has been a very tough campaign," Maxfield said. "My opponent's scare tactics and incredibly negative efforts have been hard to handle.

"I just kept working and holding my head up," he said. "I've been proud and grateful to be able to serve my district for the last four years and I'm proud and grateful to be able to serve them for four more.

"It proves that smear tactics and negative campaigning don't resonent with the voters."

Although the election may be over, reverberations from the campaign may continue. Maxfield and his lawyer, Don Campbell, have said they may file a defamation suit against those behind the allegations.

The Ethics Commission also will have to evaluate the two complaints it received during the campaign against Maxfield.

Federal officials said they are not conducting any sort of investigation targeting Maxfield, who backed stiffer ethics rules for county officials and more notification requirements for changes to the county's master-plan rules.

District A

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, a 23-year veteran on the commission, was easily re-elected to District A, which includes much of Henderson, Boulder City and the southeast part of Clark County, taking 80,692 votes, 78.6 percent, according to Election Department figures.

Woodbury, a Republican, did not have a Democratic opponent this year. His opponent, William Boyd Ballard II, an Independent American Party member, received 21,938 votes, 21.4 percent.

Woodbury, who had considered not running for the commission seat because of longstanding hearing problems, changed his mind more than a year ago after cochlear implant surgery. The implants help him hear more of the discussions around him.

The victory mirrors others in recent years. He won re-election with 63 percent of the vote in 2000 and with an overwhelming 81 percent in 1996.

Although some observers believe Woodbury can probably hold onto his seat as long as he wants it, he makes it a point to run a visible -- if not overly aggressive -- campaign.

This year, he raised more than $700,000 in monetary and in-kind contributions to fund his print and mail advertising efforts.

District D

In District D, Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates coasted to an easy victory in her bid for a third term representing the largely urban area.

Atkinson Gates, a member of the Democratic National Committee's black caucus, took 24,690 votes, 74.4 percent, besting Republican Chester Major Richardson, who received 6,942 votes, 20.9 percent, and Independent American party candidate Scott David Narter who received 1,537 votes, 4.6 percent.

Richardson has been crushed in a number of electoral efforts over the years. He failed to file contribution and expense forms with Clark County earlier this year.

Also, Richardson was in jail for failure to pay North Las Vegas traffic tickets and filed for the election through a surrogate this year.