COMMISSION DISTRICT C

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:01 a.m.

Incumbent Republican Chip Maxfield is seeking a second four-year term in Clark County Commission District C.

The commission chairman faces Deputy District Attorney Jerry Tao, who had no opponent in the Democratic primary.

As commissioner, Maxfield, 48, helped pass new ethics rules for county employees and commissioners and voted to make it more difficult to change the land-use master plans.

"I use my 18 years as a small-business owner to help solve problems facing Clark County," said Maxfield, an engineer who earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from UNLV and also is a state water-rights surveyor.

Maxfield's platform includes creating an ordinance that would limit the number of nonconforming zone changes per year and supporting more disclosures when corporations apply for zoning changes, liquor license applications and government contracts.

He also wants to speed up work on the Las Vegas Beltway, see tougher dance restrictions in adult clubs, create a rural preservation zone in the northwest valley and stop the proliferation of billboards outside the core of the county's commercial area.

Tao, 36, has served as a criminal prosecutor.

"I work every day to make our neighborhoods safer by putting criminals in prison, where they belong," Tao said. "But crime is only one of the many challenges we face."

Others, he said, include protecting neighborhoods from runaway growth, traffic snarls and pollution. His platform also includes improving schools and hospitals.

Tao lists his three priorities as ethics reform as it pertains to commissioners reporting money received from companies with business before the commission; reforming zoning ordinances by giving homeowners greater say early in the change process; and improving public safety.

District C, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 8,300, includes northwest Las Vegas, Mount Charleston, Kyle Canyon, Indian Springs and Calico Basin.