Former sheriff candidate Bisch sets sights on LV Ward 1

By Abigail Goldman (contact)

Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

Not content to abandon her political ambitions, Metro Officer Laurie Bisch announced Monday that she is running a new race: The one-time Clark County sheriff candidate is making a bid for Las Vegas City Council.

Bisch is running for the City Council's Ward 1 seat, which covers the southern central portions of the city and is now filled by Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian.

This will be Bisch's second political race; in August, she came within 3 percentage points of beating Clark County sheriff candidate Jerry Airola in the primary election.

While the municipal election is still months away, Bisch says she is ready to start fundraising and campaigning in preparation for the April 3 primary.

Tarkanian, who has represented Ward 1 since 2005, confirmed Monday that she'll run for re-election next year.

The race could be one to watch; Bisch, a determined up-and-coming candidate, versus Tarkanian, a practiced politician with name recognition.

"Any time you run against an incumbent, it's a difficult race," political consultant Dan Hart said. "I think that given Laurie's level of determination, this is a race that she could win."

Tarkanian said she'd heard that several people had been approached to run against her by Bill Walters' supporters because she was the lone vote against his plan to convert the Royal Links Golf Course to home sites.

"I'm not surprised about this because I was expecting it," said Tarkanian, who also said that Bisch, a family friend, didn't call to tell her . "It might be a crowded race."

Bisch said she hadn't been contacted by Walters or his supporters. "I'm not the type of person who's going to be bought and paid for," she said. "This is about the fact that I can make a difference in that ward."

Bisch secured a close third place in the August sheriff's primary after spending about $230,000 on her campaign - a small sum compared to Airola, who spent more than $1.7 million in the primary and finished a distant second to Undersheriff Doug Gillespie. Bisch threw her support behind Gillespie, who won the general election .

After losing the primary, Bisch says she was approached by a number of community members and political consultants urging her to pursue another elected position. Almost immediately, Bisch said, people started suggesting that she run for City Council.

"People were impressed by the fact that I was a complete unknown and did as well as I did in the sheriff's race," Bisch said. "I think they know my track record when it comes to being able to solve problems and reduce crime."

In a recent interview with the Sun, Tarkanian described Ward 1 as an urban center with a soaring crime rate; an area that was once largely residential and is today burgeoning with people and businesses - changes longtime residents don't necessarily like.

Bisch is approaching her 13th year with Metro and said winning the civic seat would be a natural extension of her police work, which she would continue by night while tending to council affairs during the day.

Hart predicts Bisch will have to raise about $500,000 to launch a competitive campaign against Tarkanian, who sat on the Clark County School Board for 12 years .

Bisch says she is ready to run again.

"It will give me a testing ground to prove myself; I am very confident in my abilities to improve quality of life and reduce crime in neighborhoods," she said. "This would certainly give me an opportunity to show people firsthand what I'm capable of."

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