ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 28

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 12:56 p.m.

Democrat Mo Denis and Republican Benjamin Bell Sr. will vie for the Assembly District 28 seat left vacant by incumbent Vonne Chowning, who failed in her bid for the Clark County Commission.

Denis, 43, garnered 51.4 percent of the votes in a three-candidate Democratic primary. Bell, 58, collected 59.7 percent of the vote in a two-person GOP primary.

Denis, a Rancho High graduate who received a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University, is a computer network technician who said his focus would be on improving education with increased accountability and giving special emphasis to schools in older areas.

He also proposes to improve conditions for senior on fixed incomes and working families.

Denis has been a volunteer for 20 years in schools, Scouting and his church. He has been a member of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Board, the Las Vegas Community Block Grant Advisory Board and the Nevada Commission on Education Technology.

Bell was an electrician and a truck driver before a car accident put him on Social Security disability.

Bell, who has an associate degree in science from Compton Community College in California, said he would address the homeless problem and work to create a state disability insurance program that would provide income for people who are injured or become ill from causes unrelated to their jobs.

He said he also supports a limit on property-tax increases.

Bell said he has had experience in previous political campaigns, including making phone calls for Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in the 1970s.

District 28 has about 4,100 more Democrats than Republicans. It is generally bounded by Cheyenne Avenue to the north and Bonanza Road to the south as well as areas east of Eastern Avenue and west of Lamb Boulevard.