Henderson’s economic rebound plays crucial role in city council races

By Conor Shine

Thursday, March 19, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Henderson has a long list of superlatives it uses to promote itself — it's one of the safest cities in America, one of the best places to retire, a great place to raise a family and is home to one of the country's best parks systems, according to adulation directed its way from various national media and other organizations.

But the city isn't without its challenges, especially in the wake of the recession that upended government budgets across Southern Nevada over the past five years.

The city was forced to cut staff and services while needed repairs to roads, sewers, parks and other infrastructure went undone. The city council even discussed raising property taxes last year to help fund the upkeep of the community.

But the three city council members running for re-election this year — Debra March, Gerri Schroder and Sam Bateman — see the city on the upswing after several lean years. They point to the recently balanced operating budget, a spate of new road construction, the arrival of new developments like Union Village and the restarting of stalled projects like the Inspirada community as signs that the city is on the mend. Things are going so well, they say, that the need for a property tax increase is becoming less and less likely.

But the mere mention of a property tax hike and doubts about the economic growth the city is actually seeing have drawn in a varied crowd of five challengers with little political experience for the three city council seats on this year's ballot. Each has their own particular concerns, ranging from employee compensation to an overreaching government to a perceived lack of transparency.

Whether any of these issues resonates enough with voters to put them over the top remains to be seen, but the challengers are sure to face an uphill battle.

March, Schroder and Bateman all enjoy large fundraising leads and the name recognition that comes with serving on the council for years.

Voters across Henderson will get to decide on the races at the April 7 primary election. Henderson candidates run at-large, meaning all Henderson residents can vote on all three of the council races.

If a candidate in any of the races fails to garner at least 50 percent of the vote in the primary, a general election run-off will be held on June 2.

Here's a look at the candidates running in the three Henderson City Council races:

Ward 1

Gerri Schroder has served on the council for eight years, the longest term of anyone on the board besides Mayor Andy Hafen, but said she still has more she'd like to accomplish in a third and final term.

She said she wants to work with her constituents in her west Henderson ward to help minimize the impact of the planned Boulder City Bypass highway, help Nevada State College continue to expand its presence in the city and help jump-start development in downtown Henderson, which could include renovations to the aging convention center and a new hotel.

She describes herself as a "mediator" who helps make sure all the different stakeholders on an issue "are on the same page."

She lists her role in helping turn around Lake Las Vegas as one of her major accomplishments while also pointing to smaller successes like revamped roadways in parts of her ward that have expanded sidewalks and added bike lanes.

Schroder's position on the council is her only job and she's also involved with a broad array of local organizations, like Workforce Connections, the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition and several other nonprofit groups.

"I'm out in the community all the time. I attend a lot of homeowners associations meetings. I'm very accessible and very protective of the residents," she said.

Schroder opposes a property tax increase because voters have told her they're against it, she said.

Her opponent, Eddie Hamilton, a perennial political candidate who ran for the Ward 1 seat and lost in 2011 with 6 percent of the vote, doesn't trust that the city won't raise property taxes in the future.

"They keep running out of money because the money's being squandered," Hamilton said of the city government, which he blames on high employee salaries. He proposes capping employee salaries at $140,000 a year, about equal to what Gov. Brian Sandoval makes, and outsourcing some city services to cut down on costs.

He's also taken aim at what he describes as a "corrupt" culture at city hall and said incumbents haven't done enough to change how the government operates.

He targeted Schroder specifically over a part-time job her husband received with the city that wasn't advertised publicly and eventually turned into a full-time job. Schroder's husband left the job after nine months, and Schroder and city officials have said she had no involvement in the decision to hire him.

"I'm going to be the conscience of good government," Hamilton said.

Edward O'Neil, the other challenger in the race, is building his campaign around two issues — reform at the city's water department and redeveloping downtown along Water Street.

O'Neil said he thinks the city's tiered water rate system, which charges prolific water users a higher per-gallon rate, is unfair.

"It's an excuse for them to tell people to conserve when it's really about profit margins," he said.

He's also unhappy with the results of the millions the city has spent to redevelop the downtown Water Street area.

"I've seen them (waste) money away over and over again trying to improve the streets and improve this or that, but they do nothing to stimulate small-business growth downtown," he said.

O'Neil said he'd push for reduced license fees and taxes for the first several years a new business is open on Water Street.

"There's no reason for the city to be the most expensive part of getting a business started," he said.

O'neil, who owns a business transporting and storing large boats, said he thinks the city is doing OK, "but we could do a lot better."

"I think a shake-up is always good. Fresh ideas make progress," he said.

Schroder heads into the primary with a large fundraising lead, having raised $192,000 compared to the $370 raised by Hamilton. O'Neil has not filed a campaign finance report.

Ward 2

During her six years on the city council, Debra March has seen the lows brought on by the recession, but said she's helped set a "strong vision" to diversify the city's economy, like the launch of the Union Village medical development and the recruitment of offices from several large companies like Barrick Gold Corp. and Barclaycard.

"First and foremost, during a difficult economic time, we tightened our belts," March said. "We were the first municipality in Southern Nevada to have our budget back in the black ... we have a stable bond rating."

March said with the city's continuing recovery, she doesn't think the property tax increase discussed last year will end up being needed.

She points to a recent compensation study that froze the salaries of employees who were making more than their private-sector counterparts as one example of fiscal prudence and said the city has involved the public on important discussions on everything from single stream recycling to property tax increases,

March, who served as the director of UNLV's Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies for 13 years until 2009, said she's also worked to remove "barriers" in the business licensing and land use processes to help "set the table" for businesses to be successful.

If elected to another four years on the council, she said one of her top goals will be to facilitate development at a large swath of vacant land in Henderson known as the Limited Transition Area.

"That allows us to have a vibrant employment center," she said.

She also wants to see more public amenities, like police and fire stations, built in the growing parts of her ward, an area that stretches southwest from the 215 Beltway and U.S. 93 interchange all the way to the Anthem community.

March's opponent, Crystal Hendrickson, decided to make her first foray into politics after hearing about the city's discussions to increase property taxes to fund infrastructure improvements.

"I live on a tight budget. I can't deal with any further tax increase. I'd like to see government operate more efficiently."

Although she thinks the city is heading in a positive direction, Hendrickson is wary about overreach and is basing her campaign on a promise of limited government. She said she thinks there's still more room to cut in the city's budget, particularly when it comes to employee pay and that she'd like to see the development and municipal codes simplified.

She also wants to play a role in the selection of a new city manager to replace the outgoing Jacob Snow in hopes of shaking up a city hall culture she describes as too "buddy buddy."

"It seems like there's a lot of people helping their friends out. I'd like to see a little more transparency," she said.

A former land surveyor, Hendrickson quit her job to run for the council seat. She criticized March's support of a gas tax increase through her role on the Regional Transportation Commission Board.

Hendrickson said "it's time we get some new people on the city council," but she'll face a challenge overcoming March's fundraising lead.

The incumbent has raised a total of $314,000 compared to Hendrickson's $1,300.

Ward 4

Similar to March, Ward 4 incumbent Sam Bateman is pointing to the city's recovery over the last four years as the reason why he should be re-elected.

"We've balanced the budget and we're poised to balance it again next year ... We've made some fundamental reforms in our spending at the city," he said. "It's a record of accomplishment."

He said cuts have been made and personnel costs lowered through a variety of pay and benefit reforms, all while maintaining a high level of service and keeping the city's property taxes at the lowest rate in the valley.

A prosecutor with the Clark County District Attorney's office, Bateman opposed the property tax increase and said the city's continued economic recovery should be enough to make up the infrastructure shortfall.

He credits the recovery of the District at Green Valley Ranch shopping center and improvements at the Henderson Multigenerational Center as adding "vibrancy" to his ward, which covers an area west of Stephanie Street that includes much of Green Valley.

"When The District needed alterations to make it successful, we were amenable to that ... through good planning we've put in place the building blocks for the private sector to come in and be successful."

But to Bateman's opponents, not enough is being done.

Financial planner Derek Uehara has focused his campaign on improving the city's economic development effort, which is projected to show declines this year in the number of businesses expanding or relocating to Henderson and in those businesses' economic impact on the city.

"I think we need more businesses," he said. "I don't think we're fully supporting that effort for economic development ... we're not allocating resources in a way that I think is appropriate."

Uehara, a first-time candidate, said he decided to enter the race after discussions about increasing property taxes in order to offer solutions that won't require a tax hike.

If elected, he said he'd put more resources toward expanding the city's economic development staff, which would help increase the number of businesses that are contacted and recruited to the city.

"I'm very clear. I want to focus on economic development. That's what I have to offer," Uehara said. "We have to be talking to more (businesses). It's a numbers game."

He criticized Bateman for not doing enough to promote economic development in the city.

Tristan Galicia decided to enter the race when he started noticing subtle changes around his neighborhood he said are "hurting the community."

One example he gave is a new apartment complex off the 215 Beltway, which he said added unnecessary density to the area.

"I felt like (the council) was not making the right decisions," he said.

A property manager, Galicia said he'd focus on maintaining the city's excellent park system and on public safety, particularly for pedestrians.

He said he also wants to play a role in the selection of a new city manager to help fix a government culture he says is too quick to appease big business interests.

Bateman holds a commanding fundraising edge, with $344,000 raised for his campaign compared to $41,000 for Uehara and $0 for Galicia.