Editorial: Competitive Vegas races

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 | 7:05 a.m.

The winner of the race for Las Vegas City Council in Ward 5, which encompasses West Las Vegas and downtown, will face some serious issues, including crime and badly needed economic development.

Although the tenor of the campaign has turned ugly, both candidates on the June 5 general election ballot are smart and were born and raised in Southern Nevada, and both express a deep concern for their community and desire to help improve it.

Stacie Truesdell, 26, is an attorney at the high-powered law firm Jones Vargas and lobbies local government. Ricki Barlow, 35, is on leave from a job at City Hall, where he was previously Councilman Lawrence Weekly's aide.

This is a close call, but the major question, for us, is experience. Barlow has worked for the city for several years, has been deeply involved in issues that affect Ward 5, and he has developed a good rapport with the community. He also has been in City Hall long enough to understand the politics and to be able to maneuver through the process to make things happen for Ward 5.

The Sun endorses Ricki Barlow for City Council.

In the race for Las Vegas Municipal Court, Department 6, two qualified attorneys came out of a crowded primary - Lynn Avants and Martin Hastings.

This was another close call. Avants, 37, is a native of Las Vegas who has spent the past nine years as a deputy public defender and has a significant amount of trial experience. Hastings, 43, grew up in Reno and started his career in the Las Vegas city attorney's office before opening up his own practice, largely composed of criminal defense work, in 1993.

A resident of downtown, Avants has firsthand knowledge of some of the issues facing Las Vegas' Municipal Court, such as mental health, homelessness and crime, and has displayed the initiative, understanding and willingness to address those issues.

The Sun endorses Lynn Avants for Las Vegas Municipal Court judge, Department 6.