COMMISSION DISTRICT D

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

Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates emerged from a strong showing in the primary with more than two-thirds of the Democratic votes, beating longtime Sen. Joe Neal in District D, the urban center of the county.

Atkinson Gates now faces Republican Chester Major Richardson, a former Washoe County resident and associate minister, and Independent American Scott David Narter, a house painter.

Perhaps the biggest issue in the campaign originated not in Atkinson Gates' District D, but in District F in western Las Vegas. Atkinson Gates and other black Democrats sharply criticized Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald's comparison of the Democratic Party to America's "last plantation."

Richardson defended the comment, arguing that the Democrats take black voters for granted. He calls himself a civil rights activist as opposed to a human rights activist. Unlike many Democratic leaders, he opposes benefits for same-sex couples, he said.

"The Democratic Party does not have a monopoly on civil rights," he said. "I don't believe civil rights includes gay rights."

Richardson, 45, also garnered publicity recently for filing for the commission seat from jail. The former Equal Opportunity Board member spent three nights at the North Las Vegas Detention Center after failing to appear in court on charges that he drove without proof of insurance and with a revoked license.

Narter, 36, argues that there are too many laws on the books.

"We need to revamp the Clark County code and eliminate all unconstitutional legislation and return property rights back to its rightful owners," he said in a Sun questionnaire. "No more business as usual for the business that calls itself a government."

Atkinson Gates, 48, said her three top issues are improving transportation, managing growth and water issues, and preventing crime. The commissioner, seeking her fourth term, said she has brought two community centers, three childhood development centers and a Metro Police substation to her district.

The substation is an indicator of things to come, she said.

"I want to continue the issue of fighting crime."