Judge grants order temporarily blocking NLV special election

By Aida Ahmed

Thursday, June 23, 2011 | 7:35 p.m.

A judge on Thursday granted a temporary restraining order blocking North Las Vegas from holding a new election in one precinct to determine the winner of the Ward 4 seat on the City Council.

The order, sought by former Mayor Michael Montandon and another individual, bars the city from “preparing for or conducting a new election.” It came the day the council met with plans to discuss details for the election.

In the June 7 general election, challenger Wade Wagner beat incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio by a single vote — 1,831 to 1,830. But it was later discovered that an invalid vote was cast in Precinct 4306, prompting the City Council to order a new election in that precinct.

Wagner has also filed a lawsuit to block a new election.

Mayor Pro Tempore William E. Robinson, who voted for the special election, said he was disappointed and expressed concerns about legal fees the cash-strapped city might incur.

“I’m mad as hell,” said Robinson. “It’s childish, and I’m disappointed in this entire process.”

Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth, assistant to the city manager, said that there will be no further discussions about the special election until after a court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

Cherchio’s term on the council, meanwhile, is about to expire. “We will not have a council member after July 1 it looks like right now,” Bailey-Hedgepeth said.

Cherchio said he is disappointed in the legal wrangling over conducting a new election in Precinct 4306, where 48 votes were cast in the general election. “This process needed to go forward for the sake of the residents,” he said.

What’s worse, Cherchio said, is that legal fees stemming the lawsuits could cost the city upwards of $30,000, while a new election would cost about $2,000.

“I think its wrong,” Cherchio said. “It’s taking the right of the public away to speak on a decision, to give them an opportunity to vote.”