By Amanda Finnegan (contact)

Fri, Aug 8, 2008 (7:06 p.m.)

After two terms, County Commissioner Chip Maxfield is stepping down, leaving his District C seat (see map) open. In Tuesday’s primary, two Democrats and five Republicans will be competing for the open spot.

On the Democratic ballot are City Councilman Larry Brown and retired county employee Jeff Campbell.

Brown, 51, has a bachelor’s degree in government and has been a city councilman in Las Vegas since 1997. Brown’s top priority is fixing Nevada’s budget crisis, but he also hopes to develop renewable energy projects and continue efforts to solve the valley’s water crisis.

Brown’s challenger, Campbell, 57, says funding for education needs, including teacher salaries, needs to be increased.

Republican candidates include Assemblywoman Valeria Weber, Karen Sweeney, Roberta Fitzgibbons, Bill Krane and Gary Marinch.

Weber, 53, is an assemblywoman in District 5. She says the county commission needs to create more jobs to boost the economy. Weber has a master’s degree in organizational management.

Both Sweeney and Fitzgibbons believe in responsible growth and feel projects have sailed through the commission without fitting into the community’s master plan. Fitzgibbons calls herself an environmentalist and opposes piping in water from areas where wildlife and wilderness might be disrupted.

Krane, 74, has a doctorate in history and is no stranger to the political process. Krane ran against Maxfield in 2004. Krane supports conservation of natural resources and redevelopment of destroyed areas, as well as more local fire and police substations in District C.

Marinch also has run for political office before. The 53-year-old real estate investor ran for state Senate in 2004. He says the public has been lied to by politicians and a change needs to be made.

The winners will face Warren Ross Markowitz, an Independent American, and Emily Klapproth, a Libertarian, in the November general election.