Scroggins to face Sisolak in race for Woodbury’s seat

By Jeff Pope (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008 | 12:54 a.m.

As the results of the Aug. 12 primary kept rolling in, County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury was at home, more concerned with the Olympic medal count than the voters’ tallies. Restricted by term limits, the man who has represented District A since 1981 could finally root for someone else to win.

Brian Scroggins will replace Woodbury on the Republican ticket for the commission seat that represents Silverado, Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite and Laughlin.

Scroggins captured 54.6 percent of the GOP vote. Woodbury, whose name still appeared on the ballot, had 32.8 of the vote, with challenger Duane Christy third at 12.7 percent.

Scroggins said he would have dropped out if Woodbury had been eligible to run.

“It was interesting. I got in on the last day of filing just to protect the seat,” he said. “But I promised Bruce that I wouldn’t campaign against him until the term limits issue was resolved.”

The state Supreme Court ruled July 25, one day before early voting began, that Woodbury and other long-time elected officials reached their voter-approved term limit.

But Woodbury said following the primary that he was not going away.

“I just want people to know again that I’m grateful for the opportunity they’ve given me,” he said. “And they’ll be hearing from me to some extent during the campaign.”

Scroggins, a sign company owner, will face Democratic nominee Steve Sisolak, who received 66.2 percent over challenger Jeffrey White. Sisolak was first elected to the state Board of Regents in 1998 and was elected to his second term in 2004.

He said Woodbury’s absence in the race plays no part in a Democrat gaining a position held for so long by the GOP.

“It’s not a matter of capturing it back; it’s not in anyone’s hands right now. In my opinion, it’s always been in the hands of the voters,” Sisolak said.

Term limits did not stop 12-year legislative veteran David Parks from winning a spot on the ballot for a state Senate seat.

Parks, D-Las Vegas, represented Assembly District 41 since 1997. He filed for Dina Titus’ state Senate District 7A seat after Titus opted to run for Congress and was not affected by the term limits because legislators’ terms began the day after the election when term limits were not yet in effect.

In the primary, Parks swept past Steve Nathan and Brandon Casutt with 74 percent to Nathan’s 15.7 percent and Casutt’s 12.9 percent.

Parks will meet Lindsay Nicole Madsen, who won the GOP nod with 46 percent over Lou Toomin with 36.4 percent and Robert Zavala with 17.7 percent.

Voter turnout in Clark County was 14.8 percent of the 697,547 registered voters. That’s down from 168,368, or 27.10 percent, in the 2006 primary and from 148,872, or 25.07 percent, in the 2004 primary.

In one of the most anticipated races, Congressman Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, will try to defend his District 3 seat from Titus, D-Henderson. Both won their parties’ nominations easily.

Republican Kenneth Wegner won his party’s nomination in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. He faces off against incumbent Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, for the second time.

In other major races:

—Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, a Democrat, will face off against Republican state legislator Valerie Weber for the County Commission seat being vacated by Chip Maxfield, who is not seeking re-election.

—Teacher and labor organizer Ron Taylor and longtime volunteer Chris Garvey will advance to the November ballot in the District B race for the Clark County School Board. Incumbent Ruth Johnson was the top vote-getter, but she has been deemed ineligible because of term limits.

—Incumbent Terri Janison advanced to the general election with just over 50 percent of the vote for the District E School Board seat. Metro Police Officer John Schutt, a 10-year veteran of the force, also advanced to the general election.

—School administrator Edward Goldman and parent volunteer Deanna Wright will face off in November for the District A School Board seat. Incumbent Mary Beth Scow received 26 percent of the vote, but was ruled ineligible because of term limits.

The general election is Nov. 4. Early voting runs Oct. 18-31.

Jeff Pope is a writer for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2688 or jeff.pope@hbcpub.com.