Big questions for the suburbs

Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

It's a question that could change the political landscape of one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

Yet Question 1 on the North Las Vegas ballot, which asks voters how they would like to choose their City Council members, has generated little active politicking and limited public interest as the campaign enters its final three weeks.

To a large extent, the same can be said of eight other issues on the ballot in North Las Vegas and Boulder City which also have produced low-profile campaigns.

In addition to the council election method issue, North Las Vegas voters face five advisory questions dealing with some of society's less savory businesses. Three ask whether strip clubs, adult movie theaters and adult bookstores should be allowed to operate in the city, while the two other measures focus on zoning restrictions on pawnshops and payday loan businesses.

All five are nonbinding, and are simply a means for elected officials to gauge public opinion on the questions.

Similarly, in Boulder City three advisory questions are on the ballot. Two ask voters whether they favor spending funds on improving city facilities and vehicles, and the third asks whether the city should sell about five acres in the industrial area to promote small-business development.

Arguably the most substantial of the various ballot issues is North Las Vegas' Question 1.

The ballot measure stems from a state law passed last year calling for the Nov. 7 vote on whether North Las Vegas City Council members, currently elected citywide, should instead be elected solely by voters in each of its four wards.

City Council members hate the idea, which they argue could divide the city, literally and figuratively. If adopted, the ward election plan, they argue, would inject more politics into a tightly knit council and could cause members to be more preoccupied with the parochial interests of their wards than with citywide concerns.

Democrats in the Assembly and a few concerned residents, however, have taken the issue to heart. They say it's about fairness and proper representation in government, about giving the little guy a fair shot in a city where politics are becoming big business.

As evidence, they note that when Mayor Michael Montandon raised nearly $500,000 for his 2005 campaign, only $872 came in donations of less than $100. The same year Ward 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Smith raised $189,765, only $200 of which came in small donations. And Ward 1 Councilman Robert Eliason, who was unopposed, raised more than $150,000.

In last year's mayoral race, political consultant Andres Ramirez raised only one-fifth as much as Montandon. He lost the race, 4,586 votes to 3,203.

"For the smaller races it becomes more difficult for a regular guy to get elected," Ramirez said.

As North Las Vegas, which has a population of about 175,000, grows to a predicted 500,000 residents by 2025, the cost of running for office also will rise. Each of the four wards has more population today than the entire city did 15 years ago.

Supporters of the ballot question, arguing that the city's growth has left some people behind - especially those in older neighborhoods - contend that the electoral change would force council members to pay closer attention to neighborhood issues. It also could help, they contend, to check some of the political downside of rapid growth by making it more feasible for people to run for office without huge campaign budgets.

"I want more balance to what's going on so the people who bought homes here have representation here, not just the developers and casinos," said resident Harvey Ferber, who regularly attends council meetings.

Although they're the reason the issue is on the ballot, state legislators have not been stumping for the ward vote, partly because most are preoccupied with their own re-election campaigns.

Assemblyman Bob McCleary, D-North Las Vegas, has another reason for staying on the political sidelines. In an e-mail, McCleary said he promised a North Las Vegas City Council member that he would not comment on the issue. McCleary, who is not running for re-election, signed his e-mail "Bob McCleary, Soon to be a private citizen."

Council members would seem to have a stronger incentive to get involved in the ballot issue campaign, given its potential to affect their political future. Yet they, too, have not actively campaigned on it, despite their strong feelings about the proposal.

"I think it's a big joke," Ward 2 Councilman William Robinson said. "State representatives shouldn't be meddling in city government. It's ludicrous. I can't say what I'd really like to say. It wouldn't be printable."

In response, Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, said: "I've heard city government say that. But the fact is it is our job. We make bills and laws for the entire state."

Democratic Assemblyman Mo Denis, whose district is split between Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, favors the proposed change.

"If there's not a lot of campaigning either way, hopefully they'll vote for it because it's the right thing to do," said Denis, who is running unopposed.

State legislators created the North Las Vegas ward system in 1999, even though council elections remain at-large - citywide - contests. A switch to district elections, proponents argue, would give voters a more direct pipeline to City Hall.

"I think the biggest thing is people will be able to hold their representatives a little more accountable," Atkinson said.

Although nonbinding, the five advisory questions on the North Las Vegas ballot also potentially could reshape the city, if city officials ultimately follow voters' advice.

The city currently has relatively little adult entertainment, and three of the ballot issues - Questions 2 through 4 - will show whether voters want to keep it that way. There are only three strip clubs in North Las Vegas, no adult bookstores and no adult movie theaters. Ballot arguments on all three issues ask voters whether they view such businesses as "a necessary and desirable amenity" for the city.

Questions 5 and 6, respectively, ask whether pawnshops and payday loan businesses should be permitted in all commercial and industrial zoning districts. Payday loan stores and pawnshops have been banned in a 2,600-acre master-planned community within the city, and the city also has set distance requirements for 21 existing payday loan businesses specifying how close they may be to one another.

In Boulder City, two of the three advisory questions deal with funding for upgrades to city facilities and vehicles.

Question 1 in Boulder City asks whether the city should spend $500,000 on needed repairs for city buildings, including City Hall and the fire station. Question 2 seeks public input on whether the city should spend $250,000 to replace older equipment such as a street sweeper and riding lawn mowers.

And the final question, No. 3, asks whether the city should sell about five acres in its industrial area to encourage small-business development. If voters approve the measure and council members follow their lead, the land - on Industrial Road between Yucca Street and a small commercial center - could be divided into 10 lots suitable for small businesses, supporters say.