Wednesday, April 6, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.
ELECTION RESULTS
*= incumbent. Anyone receiving more than 50 percent of the vote wins the race, otherwise the top two candidates face off in the June 7 general election.
Note: Vote totals may not equal 100 percent because of rounding.
Las Vegas
Ward 6
Troy P. Bulloch 84 votes 1.8%
Debbie Kitterman Burgos 159 votes 3.4%
Jeff Crisman 501 votes 10.6%
(Winner) Mary Gillins 1,291 votes 27.4%
Robert D. Glover 65 votes 1.4%
Byron Goynes 607 votes 12.9%
Gary L. Ratliff 75 votes 1.6%
Marlene Rogoff 175 votes 3.7%
(Winner) Steve Ross 1,489 votes 31.6%
Anthony M. "Tony" Salas 72 votes 1.5%
Steve "Devil Dog" Sanson 190 votes 4%
Municipal Judge, Dept. 5
Mat Harter 5,936 votes 40.4%
(Winner) Cedric Kerns* 8,761 votes 59.6%
Henderson
Mayor (Winner) Jim Gibson* 8,327 votes 80.4%
Susan Gillean-Bedell 704 votes 6.8%
Laurie Robinson 1,322 votes 12.8%
Municipal Judge, Dept. 3
David Gibson Jr. 2,620 votes 25.7%
(Winner)Diana Hampton 3,487 votes 34.3%
Kenneth Walker Long 1,344 votes 13.2%
(Winner)Michael L. Miller 2,730 votes 26.8%
North Las Vegas
Municipal Judge, Dept. 2
Keith Buck 702 17.1%
(Winner) Willia Chaney 1,646 votes 40.1%
Marcia Daines 158 votes 3.8%
(Winner) Sean Hoeffgen 831 votes 20.2%
Christopher Larotonda 556 votes 13.5%
Robert Nelson-Kortland 216 votes 5.3%
Now that he has been re-elected in a landslide, there will be plenty of speculation in the upcoming months on whether Gibson will run for governor in 2006.
Gibson got 8,327 votes, or 80.4 percent of the total votes cast, in defeating insurance claims adjustor Laurie Robinson and Susan Gillean-Bedell, a part-time casino banquet server. Robinson was second with 1,322 votes, 12.7 percent. Gillean-Bedell was third with 704 votes, 6.8 percent.
Only 10,408 out of 118,860 active registered voters went to the polls in Henderson to vote for mayor and Municipal Court judge. That translates to a turnout of 8.8 percent.
"I am grateful, humbled by it and overwhelmed by it," Gibson said of his strong showing. "We heard from hundreds and thousands of people about how much they love living in Henderson. This confirms what we were hearing out there. No one says it's perfect and that there are not any issues, but they love the city."
As for the 20 percent who didn't vote for him, Gibson said he takes it as a challenge to win them over and address the issues that concern them. He said that during his campaign, he called several voters who weren't supporting him in an attempt to get them to change their mind.
"I can't tell for sure what it is," Gibson said of those who didn't back him. "I am an incumbent, and it has been a difficult time for government with scandals and property tax issues. It all takes a toll on you."
Gibson raised more than $600,000 for his reelection bid and spent more than $200,000, according to the latest report. Whatever cash is left over from his municipal campaign, he can spend on a state wide race.
Gibson maintains he has no plans to run for governor at this time, but he hasn't completely ruled it out either. The Democratic primary is expected to include Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, a Henderson deputy police chief, and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas.
"I have been hearing that people have urged me to do that for a couple of years now," Gibson said. "I am not focused on running for governor. I am focused on continuing to do the work and tackling the issues in front of us. Other things I will deal with down the road."
Gary Gray, a campaign consultant to Democrats, said because of the crowded field, he doesn't see Gibson running unless one of the front-runners falters.
"I am sure there are going to be people out there that want to see the mayor run," Gray said. "He has a base to run with, but I have also watched his comments in the past, and I am not sure he will be persuaded by that."
"The potential millstone is his role in the monorail system," Gray said. "Whether or not voters would accept whether it is his fault, they are looking for someone who can step in and deal authoritatively with problems."
In January 2004, Gibson stepped in as chief executive officer of Transit Systems Management, operators of the Las Vegas Monorail. It has been plagued with problems of which Gibson said he inherited and was brought in to fix.
Political consultant Kent Oram, a friend of Gibson, said he has no idea whether the mayor will run, and he's not sure Gibson knows either.
"I think he is certainly thinking about it, but beyond that, he will let the natural course of events work their way out," Oram said. "He is one the people mentioned as a likely or potential person who may run. I would say 'may' is the operative word at the moment."
Oram said Gibson and Perkins could run against each other despite being from the same city. He said each will have his own base of supporters.
"That wouldn't be the point. But they would have to spend way beyond the boundaries of Henderson to be viable candidates," Oram said.
Gillean-Bedell said she put her name on the ballot as a democracy lesson because she wanted to make sure Gibson wasn't the sole candidate for mayor. She said he has done a wonderful job and would like to see him run for governor.
"He has a heart for this state and is a very family-oriented person," Gillean-Bedell said.
Gibson came under fire in the mayoral race from Robinson who said the mayor wasn't doing a good job. She said the city allowed growth to happen to fast and approved developments before infrastructure improvements could be completed.
In the 2003 primary, 13,912 or 14.37 percent of the 96,807 active registered voters cast ballots. Only 8,166 or 8.86 percent of the 92,136 active registered voters cast ballots in 2001 when Gibson did not face a challenger.
Gibson said he's disappointed more people didn't vote.
City Clerk Monica Simmons attributed the low turnout to a small ballot and voter apathy.
"I was really glad it reached 8.8 percent," Simmons said. "We only had 4.8 percent after the early voting. I am disappointed. It should be greater."
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