Ramirez promises rally

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 9:47 a.m.

North Las Vegas mayoral candidate Andres Ramirez vowed to go ahead today with a free concert and political rally, blaming politics for the city's denial of a permit to use Eldorado Park.

Ramirez appeared before the North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday night to complain about the permit rejection. He urged the council to intervene on his behalf, but it did not.

"We are going to hold it anyways," Ramirez said Wednesday night. "If they try to arrest us, so be it."

Council members stayed out of the issue after City Manager Gregory Rose said there was no evidence to back up Ramirez' claim that his campaign requested the permit on May 25. He said the city only received the request this week and couldn't process it that quickly.

Prior to the meeting, Parks Director Mike Henley said anyone can informally use the park without seeking a permit. But he said the city needs at least two weeks to process a permit if someone proposes a special event in which several hundred people could attend.

That's because city departments such as police, fire and parks are consulted and staff assigned for maintenance and security, Henley said. There needs to be a plan for crowd control, parking, traffic emergency access as well as setting up the park with a stage and portable restrooms that will be paid for by organizers.

A car show held last weekend in North Las Vegas was coordinated with the city for more than two-months, Henley said. He said the Ramirez campaign hasn't been singled out and that politics isn't involved.

"Heck no," Henley said. "We treat everyone the same. My only concern is with public safety."

The concert will go on anyway with Joseph Fargier, who in the past has performed with the Gipsy Kings, according to Ramirez's friend, Carlos Reyes, who helped set up the event. Fargier will perform between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on a flatbed truck parked along the street next to Eldorado Park, Ramirez said. There will also be a rally and shuttle to the polls for early voting.

Police spokesman Tim Bedwell said he doesn't know how the department will respond if the concert occurs.

"It is not something that is commonplace," he said.

Although he says he has no proof, Ramirez points a finger at his opponent, Mayor Mike Montandon, for the city's denial. He said his campaign contacted parks staff last week and thought everything was on track until he was told the city denied the permit on Tuesday. He said his campaign was willing to pay for the city staff's time, but no parks officials disclosed the rules until Tuesday.

"It is the political machine at work trying to prevent people from exercising their rights to political speech," Ramirez said. "They just came up with any excuse so we couldn't have the event. The city has never been upfront with us. They made us wait until the last day, and now they are pulling the plug."

Montandon campaign manager Steve Wark said the mayor had nothing to do with the denial and that he didn't even know about the concert. He called Ramirez naive about how city government works and that he should have to play by the same rules everyone else does. It's not reasonable to expect a permit be granted overnight, Wark said.

"He thinks he is above everybody else," Wark said. "Other people have to obey the rules, but he thinks he doesn't. That doesn't say much for his character."