Nor'Town: Politics in North Las Vegas, Nevada

Ward 4 Candidates On KNPR's State of Nevada

The Cato campaign sent me a note that the North Las Vegas 4th Ward candidates Jo Cato, Richard Cherchio, and Deborah Lewis will be on the radio on KNPR's (88.9 FM) State of Nevada tomorrow morning, Thurs. March 29, sometime after 9am.

You can call in questions to 258-3552 or email them to son@knpr.org.

The incumbent Shari Buck will not be appearing. That makes two of Ralston's Face to Faces and a KNPR appearance that she's ditched. Wonder why she's hiding? Surely the Fertitta Brothers or Garry Goett would be happy to lend her a limo to get her to the studio, stocked with tasty snacks like champaign and caviar.

She's probably relying on what she called "the same people" to show up at the polls:

Buck, though, seems unconcerned that the change [to Ward voting] will knock her out of office. "I guess my assumption is that the same people that normally vote will come out," she said. (Sun)

Or, as Jon Ralston described the strategy:

It's hard to make people be interested if they believe the election is fixed. But the saddest news of all is that incumbents generally like super-low turnouts because they can afford the infrastructure to get their people to the polls. That is, they can fix the outcomes. (Ralston)

1,219 out of 18,882 registered voters in Ward 4, or 6%, have voted as of this posting. Buck has spent about 6/10th of a penny for each one of those votes. Looked at that way, I guess a Nor'towner's vote is pretty cheap! Looked at another way, not so much. As Ralston concludes:

So for all of you who won't vote this time, I hope you like the government you didn't take the time to ask for.

Ward 4 folk can still do early voting:

March 28, Wednesday, Vons, Martin Luther King/Craig 9am - 6pm
March 29, Thursday, Vons, Martin Luther King/Craig 9am - 6pm
March 30, Friday, Vons, Martin Luther King/Craig 9am - 6pm

Also at City Hall and the Clark County Election Center. More info here.

Campaign Finance Reports Are In!

Whoohoo! Contribution and Expense Reports for most of the candidates are up on the North Las Vegas city site.

Who's winning the money game? Incumbents, of course!

Total Contributions:

Ward 4

Shari Buck: $183,300
Richard Cherchio: $44,064
[UPDATE: Jo Cato $18,000]
Debra Lewis: $10,350

Ward 2

William Robinson $114,850
John T. Stephens $610

With all that money, you'd think Robinson would figure out a way to type his entries. And Ward 2, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Send that John Stephens some money. He can't even afford a website, for pete's sake. You all are just making a mockery of the democratic process.

I'll be looking over those reports real careful the next few days, but lookee what I've already spotted in Shari Buck's: the Fertitta Brothers:

[UPDATE: Aliante Holding is owned by Aliante Station: $5,000]
[UPDATE: Fiesta Rancho: $5,000]
Boulder Station $5,000
Palace Station $5,000
Station Casinos, Inc. $5,000
Texas Station $5,000
Texas Station In Kind Contributions, $2,567.25
Fertitta Total:      $22567.25 $27,567.25 $32,567.25

Now, in the state of Nevada, the maximum contribution allowed is $10,000, $5,000 in the primary and $5,000 in the general. How is it that Stations Casinos can give over 22K? Let Sun reporter Coolican explain:

Some of the anonymity stems from what is known as "bundling." Although contributors can give only $10,000 to a candidate, a 1994 ruling by then-Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa argued that the Nevada campaign finance law allows different entities each to give $10,000.

As a result, wealthy individuals and companies form limited liability corporations so they can bundle their contributions and give candidates hundreds of thousands of dollars. These new companies have no public profile and exist only to funnel campaign cash, so they can remain a mystery to the public.

So, you ask, why bother with the $10,000 limit if Nevada politicians and their rich donors are cynically going to ignore. Now, that's a good question to ask your state Assemblyperson or Senator. Unfortunately, you'll find that no one has drafted any bills that directly address the problem for this session of the Legislature.

And if you want some real fun, go do a corporate entity search over at the Secretary of State's page for some of those Limited Liabilty Corporations, or LLC's, that you find in abundance in Buck's Contribution and Expense Report. I know I will.

Ignored Again, Naturally

Over in the Las Vegas Sun we learn again how the Will of North Las Vegas residents is thwarted by our supposedly elected government officials. The story reminds us how the majority of North Las Vegans voted for plan 1 of the Craig Ranch Regional Park, but in the dead of night afternoon, the City Council pulled out yet another plan that was not among the original three and somehow was elevated to most-favored status.

And if you read the transcripts of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board you see that board members were under the impression that City Staff were "going" with plan 1  (p. 6). Oh no, staff responds. One member liked 1, one liked 2, and one liked 3. Ergo, by a leap of logic worthy of North Town, the board favored 2!

Is it any wonder that North Town is so famous for it's apathy? Or is it just a matter of giving up, given all the decisions are made behind closed doors?

It's good to see the Ward 4 candidates Deborah Lewis and Richard Cherchio are leaning toward option 1. And kudos to Councilman Robinson who also seems to be supportive of a more natural plan for the park:

At least one current council member supports the push for the natural park.   

"I'm going to listen to the residents," said Councilman William Robinson, who is running for reelection in Ward 2. "I don't want to take all of the trees out of there."

Just one thing though, in the original RJ story, it was reported that Councilgal Stephanie Smith was concerned about the loss of trees in plan 4. In the Sun article those remarks were attributed to Shari Buck. Or did Buck just co-opt those remarks 'cuz they take the edge of her contention that all those parents who supposedly called her want her to mow down those trees for soccer fields? Hmm. We have a record of the web survey. Guess we're supposed to take Buck's word about all those phone calls.

Sometimes It Takes Me Awhile...

but I finally spotted Deborah Lewis's website. And here's Jo Cato's.

Shari Buck Has Two Challengers

North Las Vegas Councilperson Shari Buck has two challengers for Ward 4. Richard Cherchio has made his run official and Deborah Lewis, a North Las Vegas activist who tried to stop Station Casinos from building yet another one of their lovely properties, is also signed up for the race. It looks like Ward 4 will have an interesting race with strong candidates all around.

Buck is also the beneficiary of the garbage king trifecta of corporate donations like councilguy Robinson. She's received a total of $15,000 bundled from the local garbage company. Unlike Robinson, however, she at least listed them separately on p. 3 of her financials:

$5,000 Republic Disposal Urban Maintenance

$5,000 Republic Environmental Technologies

$5,000 Republic Services of So. Nevada

The first company isn't listed on the Secretary of State's bidness site. Hmm. Slapped together just for this election cycle maybe?

[UPDATE: Glossy signs for Richard Cherchio sprang up overnight on MLK. Do I smell Aliante money going up against the garbage company? Hmm. Wonder if the Cherchios still plan to move into Turnberry Towers?]