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North Las Vegas mayor, councilwoman bid farewell

Montandon, Smith helped to lead city through rapid growth

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Outgoing Mayor Michael Montandon greets guests Wednesday during his farewell reception at North Las Vegas City Hall.

By Jeff Pope (contact)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 | 10:43 p.m.

Farewell Reception

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In some ways, building North Las Vegas has been like a video game, outgoing Mayor Michael Montandon said.

In his farewell speech, Montandon compared his tenure to the video game Sim City, except the game is “a little faster than we do it here.” In Sim City, players can build a city out of the dirt into a thriving metropolis.

After 12 years and about 300 City Council meetings, Montandon and Councilwoman Stephanie Smith presided over their final council meeting on Wednesday. Both were forced out of office because of term limits.

When Montandon and Smith were first elected in 1997, North Las Vegas was home to 88,000 people. During their tenures, population grew to 216,000, and Montandon and Smith weighed in on the issues accompanying that growth.

“It really has been a great deal of fun being a part of and having some small sliver of influence on what was happening here in North Las Vegas,” said Montandon, who has announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Smith, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor, will continue to teach music for the school district.

“I really appreciate the chance to work with you,” she said. “I love you all and I’ll miss you.”

Colleagues, city employees and residents said their farewells at a gathering prior to the meeting.

Councilwoman Shari Buck was elected mayor on June 2, beating out Councilman William Robinson.

Voters elected Anita Wood to fill Smith’s Ward 3 seat, and the city is accepting applications from residents of Ward 4 to fill Buck’s remaining two years on the council. The council will appoint a candidate for Ward 4 its July 15 meeting.

Buck and Robinson were absent from the meeting but City Manager Gregory Rose read a letter from Buck.

“I wish you success for you both in whatever your future endeavors are,” Rose read.

Rose added his own congratulations, saying the city benefitted from the leadership of Montandon and Smith.