Friday, March 18, 2005 | 11:13 a.m.
NLV Municipal Judge Candidates
Keith Buck
Republican
Age: 45
Occupation: Oversees manufactur-
ing of handcrafted and area rugs
for Nevada Contract Carpet
Endorsements: International Asso-
ciation of Firefighters Local #1607
Willia Chaney
Democrat
Age: 62
Occupation: executive director,
Smart Start Child Care Center
Endorsements:
Downtown (Las Vegas) Business
Operators Council
Marcia Daines
Republican
Age: 56
Occupation: administrative assist-
ant in Las Vegas Municipal Court
Sean Hoeffgen
Republican
Age: 36
Occupation: attorney
Web site:
www.seanhoeffgen.com
Endorsements:
The Southwest Regional Carpen-
ters Association, Law Enforcement
Association of Nevada.
Robert Nelson-Kortland
Democrat
Age: 65
Occupation: staff attorney for Las
Vegas Senior Citizens Law Project
Christopher Larotonda
No party
Age: 49
Occupation: NLV police lieutenant
Web site:
www.larotondaforjudge.com
Endorsements: North Las Vegas
Police Officers4 Association, Las
Vegas Police Protective Associa-
tion, Las Vegas Metro Police Su-
pervisors4 Association, Nevada
Conference of Police and Sheriffs,
Teamsters Local 14, Central Labor
Council.
Early Voting Sites
North Las Vegas City Hall, 2200 Civic Center Drive, Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., through March 31.
Clark County Election Center, 965 Trade Drive, Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., March 21-April 1.
Mobile voting:
March 19, 20, and 21: Albertson's at the intersection of Civic Center and Lake Mead 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
March 21, 22, and 23: Silver Mesa Recreation Center 4025 Allen Lane, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
March 24, 25, and 26: Sun City Aliante 7390 Aliante Pkwy. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
March 30 and 31, and April 1: Smith's at the intersection of Ann and Camino Al Norte 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Vons at the intersection of Martin Luther King and Craig 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
North Las Vegas voters heading to polls during the next three weeks will choose their next Municipal Court judge, or at least whittle the field of candidates.
The list includes two attorneys, the head of a child care center, a police lieutenant, a rug manufacturer who is married to a city councilwoman and a woman who would rather not be on the ballot
North Las Vegas does not require its municipal judges to be lawyers. But the two attorneys running for the position say their experience and occupations make them the most qualified and sensible choices for judge. The others say there is no reason to think a city judge has to be a lawyer, and point to Municipal Judge Warren Van Landschoot as proof.
Van Landschoot, a former homicide detective, is the judge in the city's first court.
The second Municipal Court which was added in January to deal with the increasing caseload.
The current judge in the new court, Mark Larson, was appointed by the City Council and is not running to keep his position.
Early voting lasts through April 1, and Election Day for the primary is April 5.
A candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary would be declared the winner. Otherwise the top two vote getters will face off in the June 7 general election.
The race is nonpartisan, which means candidates' political party affiliations will not be listed on the ballot.
Marcia Daines, 56, a Republican and administrative assistant in the Las Vegas Municipal Court, tried to remove her name from the ballot but was too late. She said even if she made it through the primary she will continue to try to drop out of the race.
"Use your vote on someone that's running," Daines said to voters.
A Las Vegas ordinance requires city employees be placed on unpaid leave once they file to run for elected office. The city employees' union has filed a grievance on behalf of Daines over the matter, but it is unlikely the issue will be resolved before the end of the election.
The ordinance has also forced candidate Robert Nelson-Kortland to take unpaid leave from his job as staff attorney for Las Vegas' Senior Citizens Law Project. But unlike Daines, Nelson-Kortland wants the spot on the North Las Vegas bench.
Nelson-Kortland, 65 and a Democrat, said his work experience sets him apart from the other candidates.
In addition to his full-time job, in which he provided free legal services to senior citizens, Nelson-Kortland has been a pro tem judge for the North Las Vegas Justice Court for the last two years, filling in sometimes when the justices take vacation or are sick. He said he was also a juvenile master in Washoe County in the mid-1980s and a military judge for the Air Force in the late 1960s.
"I am the only qualified candidate," he said.
If elected, Nelson-Kortland said he would push to add a night or Saturday calendar to the city's municipal court calendar -- an idea also suggested by some of the other candidates.
The other attorney in the race, Sean Hoeffgen, also said his legal experience makes him the best candidate.
Hoeffgen, 36, is an attorney who said he spends about half of his week representing defendants in Las Vegas Municipal Court.
"I have extensive legal training and courtroom experience," Hoeffgen said. "And given the complexity of legal issues and the number of court cases, we need a legal expert who can hit the ground running."
Municipal courts deal with traffic and misdemeanor cases such as domestic violence and some drunken driving offenses.
Hoeffgen also said he would want to look into adding a night court, and also said he would look into expanding programs for people with drug, alcohol or domestic violence problems. Although not an attorney, candidate Christopher Larotonda said he sees becoming a municipal judge as "a natural extension of what I do now."
Larotonda, 49 and not a registered member of any political party, is a North Las Vegas Police lieutenant.
He said the next city judge should have some experience with the judicial system, adding that he's "been on the testifying end" of many cases during his career as a police officer.
Larotonda said that if elected he would try to create a position at the court for someone who could help victims of traffic accidents or other matters find the government or private agencies that can help them.
He said that too often people don't know what resources are available to help them.
"It would be someone who would be a resource, who could at least give them phone numbers they could call for help and push people in the right direction," Larotonda said.
Candidates Keith Buck, husband of North Las Vegas Councilwoman, and Willia Chaney said they see no reason why the next city judge should be a lawyer.
"The Municipal Court is known as the common man's court," Buck, 45, said. "Just because you're an attorney doesn't mean you're any better at it. I'm as competent as any lawyer running in this race."
Buck oversees manufacturing of handcrafted and area rugs for Nevada Contract Carpet, and ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1995.
Buck said he wants to be a judge because "a judge has the ability to affect our community for the good."
If elected, Buck said he would want to explore the possibility of adding a night court to the calendar, and possibly launch a mentoring program.
Chaney, 62, said she would want to expand or create programs to get offenders into job training or educational programs.
Chaney said her job as executive director of the Smart Start Child Care Center in Las Vegas has given her valuable experience in dealing with people and their problems that would be useful in the courtroom.
"I'm prudent and people have told me I'm fair," Chaney said. "I would be a common sense judge."
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