Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 11:11 a.m.
Troy P.Bulloch
Republican
Age: 34
Occupation: Fort Cheyenne casino manager
Marlene Rogoff
Democrat
Age: 60
Occupation: Realtor
Web site: www.friendsofmarlene.org
Robert D. Glover
Libertarian
Age: 59
Occupation: Managing partner, Bowman, Foreman & Sbarra Insurance Agency.
Byron Goynes
Democrat
Age: 44
Occupation: Manager Customer Service / Quality Assurance ATC Las Vegas (Operators of the CAT-Bus System)
Web site: www.Goynes4Council.com
Endorsement: Council of African American Nevadans
Mary Gillins
Republican
Age: 43
Occupation: Legal assistant and operations manager for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association.
Endorsements: Nevada Conference of Police, Las Vegas Police Protective Association, Las Vegas Police Protective Association Civilian Employees' Association, and North Las Vegas Police Officers Association.
Jeff Crisman
Republican
Age: 56
Occupation: Retired
Web site: www.jeffcrisman.com
Debbie Kitterman Burgos
Democrat
Age: 45
Occupation: Legal administrator at Dickerson Dickerson Consul & Pocker
Anthony M. "Tony" Salas
Republican
Age: 58
Occupation: Disabled.
Steve Ross
Democrat
Age: 42
Occupation: General manager of Keleeco Electric
Web site: www.rossforlasvegas.com
Endorsements: Central Labor Council, Las Vegas City Employees4 Association, Association of General Contractors, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and AFL-CIO.
Gary L. Ratliff
Republican
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired.
Steve "Devil Dog" Sanson
Republican
Age: 37
Occupation: Credit/legal manager for Fronteer Directory Co.
Web site: www.stevesanson4council.com
Endorsements: Veterans in Politics
All 11 candidates for the Ward 6 seat on the Las Vegas City Council promise they are for "responsible" or "sensible" growth in the fast-expanding and rapidly developing northern part of the city they seek to represent.
The candidates set themselves apart from the field with their varied backgrounds -- from retirees to legal assistant -- and stands on other issues ranging from property tax relief to affordable housing.
The candidates first face off in the April 5 primary election; early voting for the primary begins Saturday and lasts through April 1. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, that candidate is declared the winner of the election.
Otherwise, the top two vote getters from the primary will move on to the June 7 general election, with early voting from May 21 to June 3. City elections are nonpartisan, which means a candidate's political affiliation will not appear on the ballot. The annual salary for the new council member will be $42,596.
The field of 11 candidates includes many making their first run for elected office, and several who say they would not be running if incumbent Ward 6 Councilman Michael Mack were in the race. Mack has said he decided not to seek another term so he could spend more time with his family.
By stepping aside, Mack avoided what would have likely been a tough negative campaign against the incumbent who has survived ethical and legal battles since joining the council.
Like those hoping to replace Mack on the council, the incumbent said dealing with growth will continue to be the biggest issue for the Ward 6 representative on the council.
Nearly every City Council meeting includes action on at least one proposed development for Ward 6, which hugs the eastern side of U.S. 95 beginning at Washington Avenue and includes all of the city north of Lone Mountain Road. Also, the new council member will be dealing with the plans to develop 1,710 acres at the foot of Kyle Canyon bought at a Feb. 2 federal auction.
Managing growth, the candidates say, is the most important issue facing their ward and their city, and they all pledge to fight for space for schools, roads and parks in new developments. Some candidates have variations on exactly how they would accomplish the goal, but in general they say residents' opinions would be a significant factor in any decision they make.
For candidate Steve "Devil Dog" Sanson, 37, neighborhood input would be the only factor.
Sanson, a bill collector for the telephone book company Fronteer, said he would base his support for developments on a survey of the nearby residents.
"That resident lives there and knows exactly what's going on in their neighborhood," Sanson said. "We should take more from what the residents are saying."
"Devil Dog," a common nickname for Marines, will appear on the ballot as Sanson's nickname. Sanson, a Republican, is a former Marine who also served in the Army reserves. He is endorsed by Veterans In Politics.
But Sanson's chances in the election could be hurt by a domestic battery conviction stemming from an October 1997 incident with his then-wife. They subsequently divorced.
Steve Ross, 42, is another candidate whose chances for election could be affected by legal problems from his past.
In 1991, Ross was charged with domestic battery after hitting his then-wife. The charge was dismissed. Ross also paid a fine for tampering with a vehicle without the owner's permission and other charges were dropped related to an incident in which Ross tried to steal a car part from a neighbor's vehicle in 1983. Ross was 20 at the time.
Both candidates say their actions were wrong and that they have learned from the past.
Ross has called the domestic violence incident a life-changing event that led him to focus more on his family and become more involved with his church.
On the growth issues, Ross said that when proposed developments are set to come before the council he will reach out to the affected neighborhoods.
"As a councilman I would go knock on doors or call people to let them know a development is coming," Ross said.
Ross, a Democrat and general manager of electrical contracting company Keleeco Electric, has been endorsed by several groups including the Las Vegas City Employees' Association, Central Labor Council, and Association of General Contractors.
Mary Gillins, 43, is another candidate with several endorsements.
Gillins is a legal assistant and operations manager for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union for Metro Police officers, and is married to a Metro Police detective who is a lobbyist for the department. Gillins has been endorsed by the Nevada Conference of Police, Las Vegas Police Protective Association, Las Vegas Police Protective Association Civilian Employees' Association, and the North Las Vegas Police Officers' Association.
Gillins, a Republican, said running for City Council is "something I've always wanted to do.
"When Mack decided not to run I said this is my opportunity."
In addition to growth-related issues, Gillins proposes prohibiting accepting campaign donations except during the year of the election.
Ross is also calling for limiting campaign fundraising to around elections time.
Troy P. Bulloch, 34, manager of the Fort Cheyenne casino in North Las Vegas, said he would be opposed to putting commercial developments near rural neighborhoods.
"You can't put commercial next to horses," said Bulloch, who has ran unsuccessfully for the Clark County School Board three times.
Bulloch, a Republican, also said he would work to ensure that streetlights and sidewalks are part of every development. He said both are sorely needed along Frontage Road near a popular skateboard park.
City Planning Commissioner Byron Goynes said he, too, would reach out to the community for input on proposed developments.
Goynes said that as a commissioner he has worked to be involved with the developers and neighbors struggling over controversial projects in the past. However, Goynes has run into criticism in at least one of his past involvements with such a situation.
In December, members of the Rancho Manor Neighborhood Association questioned Goynes' involvement with a proposal from an Atlanta development company, Ambling Co., which unsuccessfully tried to win council approval for three high-rise condominium buildings near Alta Drive and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Goynes, 44, said his attendance at a meeting between Ambling representatives and the association members shows he cares about what happens in the city.
"I'm proud that I've participated in the process," Goynes said.
Goynes, a Democrat, was a member of the city's Board of Zoning Adjustment, which no longer exists, from April 1992 until May 2000. He has been a member of the Planning Commission since February 2000.
Goynes said his experience on the city boards makes him "the most qualified person for the job."
Goynes, who works as a manager of customer service at ATC, the operators of the CAT bus system, also said that if elected he would push for the city to develop more mass transit and adopt air quality legislation.
Candidate Jeff Crisman, 56, said that if elected he would try to have the City Council act to alleviate the tax burden expected in the wake of rising property value. The state Legislature is currently working on that issue.
Crisman, who was on the City Council of Carlsbad, Calif., in the late 1970s, said the council should "cut city property taxes to avoid a windfall for the city."
During the past 12 years, the city has generally had property tax revenue grow by about 10 percent a year. For the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, the skyrocketing property value is expected to instead lead to as much as a 27 percent increase in revenue, city Finance Director Mark Vincent said.
The City Council has control over about 20 percent of the tax rate. For a homeowner with a new $300,000 home and a tax bill of about $3,450, the expected jump in value would increase that homeowner's tax bill by about $1,000. A city freeze on tax-revenue increases would save that taxpayer about $200 a year, Vincent said.
Crisman, a Republican and retired consultant and former owner of a real estate firm among other companies, also takes issue with the city's preliminary plans for the vacant 61 acres downtown.
Crisman said the land should not become home to a baseball stadium or academic medical center as called for by current plans. Instead affordable housing should be built on the land, he said.
Candidate Marlene Rogoff, 60, a realtor, also said the city should work to have more affordable housing built for low- and moderate-income residents.
Rogoff said that in past years many people were drawn to Las Vegas by the affordability of homes, but homes are now becoming too expensive for many. Providing affordable housing would be "a nice gesture," she said.
Rogoff, a Democrat, said Mack's decision not to run for re-election led her to try her first run for public office.
"I wouldn't run if Michael Mack was because it's difficult to beat an incumbent," Rogoff said, echoing comments made by some of her fellow candidates including Anthony M. "Tony" Salas.
A critic of the Southern Nevada Water Authorities drought measures, Salas says the water authority is simply trying to free up water for future development. He said the city should work to increase the amount of water available to valley residents.
"We're not in a drought, we're in the desert," Salas said.
Salas, 58, is a Republican and former manufacturing consultant who is on disability. He is recovering from heart problems, the treatment of which included injecting stem cells around his heart. Salas said his health was so bad at one point he could barely walk 200 feet, and his last business went bankrupt because his health problems kept him from working full-time and he lost his clients.
Debbie Kitterman Burgos, 45, a Democrat and legal administrator at a local law firm, said she, too, saw Mack's decision as an opportunity to run for council.
Despite some of the negative media attention Mack has received during his time on the council, Burgos said Mack was always responsive to his constituents, and "always willing to help."
Burgos recently fought against a proposal to put power substations near her neighborhood and said she thinks this issue will resurface in other neighborhoods.
"These substations need to go away from neighborhoods," she said.
Candidate Gary Ratliff, a 61-year-old retired civil service worker, said he entered the race because he didn't see any other candidates worthy of being elected.
Ratliff, a Republican, also said he would be a councilman who is "unencumbered by special interests," referring to the possibility that other candidates would have to abstain from some matters before the council because of their jobs.
Ratliff said he is particularly concerned with the storm-water runoff problems that he says are caused by increased development.
Robert D. Glover, 59, a managing partner of a local insurance agency, is the only Libertarian in the Ward 6 race.
But the former councilman from Waxahachie, Texas, who served from 1980 to 1982, predicted he wouldn't fare well in the election because he has been unable to raise as much money as he thinks other candidates have.
"I just can't compete," Glover said.
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