Las Vegas City Council Ward 6 candidates

By Conor Shine

Thursday, March 28, 2013 | 2 a.m.

• 

  Courtesy

  Suzette LaGrange

  Age: 39

  Occupation: Senior vice president for Colliers International

  Other experience:

  For the past seven years my husband, James Miranda, and I have owned a mixed martial arts and CrossFit facility. I have been actively involved in issues affecting the small business and commercial real estate industry for the past five years.

  Questions:

  1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

  Municipal contracts should all be competitively bid and awarded to the lowest, capable bidder. I don’t believe in “sole-source” contracting. We should compare what the cost difference is between outsourcing some government operations to the private sector and the costs for the city to provide. I will work hard to represent the taxpayers free of conflicts of interest.

  2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a city council member?

  The past 18 years have equipped me with the experience to recruit new businesses and jobs to Ward 6. The funding and completion of the U.S. 95 and I-215 interchange will be a top priority. I will promote the Centennial Hills area as the best place to work and raise a family through the creation of the Centennial Hills Neighborhood Coalition to hold monthly town hall meetings and community events.

  3.) Do you support Metro Police’s request to levy a quarter-cent sales tax increase to hire new officers? Is Las Vegas being asked to pay an equitable share of Metro’s budget?

  The safety of our citizens should be a crucial priority. I believe that Metro Police should be required to provide an annual Consolidated Accounting and Financial Report to allow for more transparency. I would advocate for greater transparency before immediately supporting a greater tax burden while also taking into account a previously supported measure by Las Vegas voters on this increase. Both of these should be considered and analyzed before committing to further tax increases.

  The current 60/40 percent share seems reasonable based on population in both areas.

  4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the city council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples.

  I would have opposed the construction of the City Hall building. It was financially irresponsible to indebt taxpayers $188 million at a time when property and sales tax revenues were falling. The city could have redeveloped the existing building, which is currently being done for $40 million.

  The focus of the city council on downtown has left the voters of Ward 6 without an advocate focused on development, jobs and business recruitment.

• 

  Courtesy

  Paul Rodriguez

  Questions:

  1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

  To fix the budget deficit, we need to work on areas. First, revenue generation through job creation. Let me be clear on that. I don't believe in government giving jobs, rather government creating a platform for businesses to succeed and grow thus creating revenue and jobs. I believe in open market, free enterprise and fair labor. As a city, we need to compete against other cities and the county for companies to open their doors in Las Vegas through licensing, tax benefits and employee assistance. Secondly, someone must ask the hard questions and hold people accountable for the mismanagement of our three largest and "unsustainable" expenditures — salary, benefits and contracts. All three categories are inflated mostly from lower management on up. … It's time to look at the city budget like a business budget in order to get out of the deficit and into surplus territory.

  2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a city council member?

  First, public safety will always be first and foremost, making sure that our first responders are always well equipped and well trained to handle any situation. Secondly, jobs, jobs, jobs. I want to focus on opening businesses in Ward 6. If you have a business in the private sector creating jobs and revenue and operating a legal, ethical and moral operation, know that I will back your business with the full weight of my office into making sure that your business is as successful as possible.

  3.) Do you support Metro Police’s request to levy a quarter-cent sales tax increase to hire new officers? Is Las Vegas being asked to pay an equitable share of Metro’s budget?

  I do not believe nor support any additional taxes for any programs. Forty percent of Metro's budget comes from the city of Las Vegas. The question we need to ask is: Can we generate more revenue through new businesses and streamline our expenditures to industry standards, thus creating a surplus and possibly create more funding for public safety? We all want more cops in the city. I would love to find more ways to find more funding for public safety without increasing any taxes from the public.

  4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the city council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples.

  Yes, the yearly budget. No business in their right mind would create a budget that consistently borrows money from the reserves with nothing that resembles a plan on how to pay it back and how to prevent it from happening next year. Having $1 billion in projected revenue and $1.2 billion in projected expenditures is not how any institution should budget for operation. Management authorizing $18 million in overtime in 2012 for 3,400 employees is unacceptable.

• 

  Courtesy

  Steve Ross

  Age: 50

  Occupation: City Council member / electrician

  Other experience: Small businessman

  Questions:

  1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

  First and foremost, we need to put people back to work. A healthy local economy will go a long way toward closing the budget deficit. But we also need to make sure that the city of Las Vegas is spending the taxpayers' money wisely and efficiently. I'm working to streamline city government and eliminate waste. Government should be there to help, not get in the way.

  2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a city council member?

  I've proposed an ordinance to reduce the red tape and bureaucracy hindering small businesses by simplifying the permit and licensing process. This will enable entrepreneurs to focus on growing their businesses and hiring more workers — in Ward 6 and throughout Las Vegas.

  I'm also proud to have created the Northwest Youth Empowerment Council. We're working with high schools in Ward 6 to mentor students and teach them the importance of giving back to the community.

  3.) Do you support Metro Police’s request to levy a quarter-cent sales tax increase to hire new officers? Is Las Vegas being asked to pay an equitable share of Metro’s budget?

  Providing for public safety is the fundamental job of city government, and voters have made it clear that they want more police officers on the street. I support giving our police force the resources it needs to protect our neighborhoods and citizens.

  4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the city council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples.

  The city of Las Vegas passed a distance separation requirement for food trucks from brick-and-mortar restaurants, which I opposed because government should not regulate competition between businesses. I firmly believe competition is healthy and necessary for our economy to grow.