Editorial: Tarkanian for City Council

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 | 5:39 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

January 22 - 23, 2005

On Tuesday Las Vegas City Councilwoman Janet Moncrief faces a recall election against former School Board member Lois Tarkanian and Vicki Quinn, a stay-at-home mother who has been an activist on some community issues. A considerable number of residents in Ward 1 say Moncrief isn't giving them the hands-on constituent service once provided by former City Councilman Michael McDonald, whom she defeated in 2003. Some residents also say that she doesn't have the same clout as McDonald did with the rest of the City Council, pointing to the council's approval of a Social Security building near a residential area on Buffalo Drive over her and the neighborhood's opposition. The move to recall Moncrief was spurred by the Social Security building issue, but her indictment for allegedly filing false campaign-finance reports helped cement the petition drive's success in forcing a special election.

Philosophically, we're against recall drives prompted by policy decisions made by elected officials. Our representative democracy works best when the passions of the moment are allowed to subside. Voters should look at the totality of an official's record and then make a decision -- as the official's full term is ending -- on whether re-election is warranted. But the way this recall process works, voters won't have a choice to decide whether they support a special election. Voters instead will have to choose from either Moncrief or the two other candidates (Tarkanian and Quinn) who collected enough signatures on petitions to get on the ballot. Any debate over the recall's merit has been rendered moot. The choice now is who would best represent Ward 1.

We didn't endorse Moncrief before she won her election to the Ward 1 seat in 2003, citing her lack of knowledge of city government and questionable campaign tactics, which included automated phone calls to voters saying that McDonald's campaign workers were dangerous thugs. Our view of Moncrief hasn't changed that much in the time that she's been on the City Council, so that means our choice is between Quinn and Tarkanian. Quinn is bright and energetic, and she has demonstrated through her activism that she can get things done. Quinn, whose son uses a wheelchair, was instrumental in significantly improving access for the handicapped at the Thomas & Mack Center, including obtaining permanent seating for the handicapped on the arena's floor. Tarkanian is intelligent and has shown a longtime devotion to turning Las Vegas into a real community. Importantly, Ta rkanian has a substantive record of public service, too, having been a member of the Clark County School Board from 1989 to! 2000. Tarkanian, a former school teacher, was a voice of reason and was responsive to the needs of those in the district she represented while on the School Board.

If this were just a two-person race, we would support either of the councilwoman's opponents. But that isn't the case, and we are concerned that Quinn and Tarkanian could split the vote in a close race, handing the election to Moncrief. It's critical that Ward 1 residents select the best candidate, someone who they are confident could walk into the job immediately and be effective from the very first day. The City Council could use stability and a wealth of experience, qualities that certainly define Tarkanian. The Sun endorses Lois Tarkanian for City Council.