LOOKING IN ON: SUBURBS

By Mike Trask

Thursday, April 12, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

Roman Lesniak has always voted at Basic High School.

But when the 70-year-old Henderson resident heard about a new voting procedure for the municipal election last week, he checked the Clark County election Web site to make sure he could still vote there.

He entered his name and date of birth on the county site and it directed him to go to the school to vote.

Lesniak drove over. He checked the gym. No polling place. He wandered down to the cafeteria. No polling place. He checked the main office. Nothing.

"I saw some people, but they were looking for a place to vote, like me," Lesniak said.

It turns out the school was closed for spring break last week and, regardless, it wasn't a voting site.

To increase turnout, the city replaced traditional precinct-based polling sites with 15 voting centers, which were open to all registered Henderson voters.

Unfortunately, Basic High School wasn't one of them.

Henderson City Clerk Monica Simmons and Larry Lomax, Clark County registrar of voters, said Lesniak was the only one who complained about the new system.

"He just did not read the voter's guide," Simmons said. Nor, apparently, did he read two other mailers sent to all registered voters explaining the new procedure. Or the Henderson Web site, which also provided the information. There also was a link on the county site that would have provided Lesniak with the correct information.

Lesniak, though, said when he saw his longtime polling place listed on the county Web site, he had no reason to question its accuracy or search elsewhere.

In any event, after some frustration, Lesniak ended up voting at City Hall.

Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers cast her final votes Tuesday night.

Cyphers, 39, had served on the council since 1995. She also has served as chairwoman of the Southern Nevada Water Authority Board.

She will continue to be active in Henderson politics as a consultant. She has run campaigns for Municipal Judges Diana Hampton and Mark Stevens. Cyphers also works in real estate.

Gerri Schroder will replace Cyphers as Ward 1 councilwoman on Tuesday. Cyphers supported Schroder in the April 3 primary.

Richard Cherchio will be staying active after his loss in the North Las Vegas Ward 4 City Council primary.

The 60-year-old retired postman will continue serving as the head of the North Las Vegas Alliance of Homeowners Associations and Concerned Citizens.

But that's not all.

He plans to convert his campaign Web site - nlvward4.com - into a community forum.

"There's a lot of interest in what we're saying," Cherchio said. "I just want to keep that line of communication open."

He said the site will be redesigned in coming weeks. But he's not sure whether it will include message boards or other areas for public comment.

"We have to make sure we don't get a bunch of crazies," he said.

The former candidate received about 25 percent of the Ward 4 vote. However, Councilwoman Shari Buck retained her position by getting the support of 57 percent of the voters.

Sun reporter Mark Hansel contributed to this report.