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Municipal candidates square off in primary election today

Jackie Valley
Jackie Valley
Local Government
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Don’t be caught off guard if you see people sporting “I voted” stickers today.

Four Southern Nevada municipalities — Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City — are holding their primary elections today. The elections could decide who the next mayor is in Henderson and North Las Vegas and who holds city council seats in Las Vegas. That’s because if a candidate receives the majority of votes in any race, he or she is declared the winner, rendering a general election unnecessary. If there’s no clear-cut winner, the two candidates who received the most votes square off in the general election come June.

The catch: Municipal primaries typically draw a meager voter turnout, meaning a relatively small percentage of residents decide the outcome. And, historically, a significant chunk of those people cast ballots during early voting — usually more than half — so when those results are posted Tuesday evening, that could indicate the outcome of the races.

Take the 2015 municipal primary elections, for instance. Of the 37,639 voters who participated in Las Vegas, roughly 45 percent cast ballots during early voting and another 14 percent participated via absentee ballots. In Henderson, the results were even more striking: About 55 percent of people who cast ballots in the primary election did so during early voting, and another 15 percent did absentee voting.

Early voting for this year’s primary election ended Friday. The two-week window drew 10,840 voters in Las Vegas, 11,150 in Henderson and 4,736 in North Las Vegas, according to data from the Clark County Election Department.

In Las Vegas’ Ward 6, where former state Assemblywoman Michele Fiore is one of 10 candidates vying for a city council seat, 3,356 people participated in early voting — the most of any ward. Meanwhile, 2,895 people voted early in Ward 4, as did 2,666 voters in Ward 2. Incumbents Stavros Anthony (Ward 4) and Bob Beers (Ward 2) are trying to retain their council seats. Mayor Pro Tem Steve Ross, who represents Ward 6, can’t seek re-election because of term limits, but his wife, Kelli, is running in that race in hopes of succeeding him.

Another race to watch is the battle for the Ward 3 city council seat in North Las Vegas, which drew 1,959 voters to the polls during early voting. Former Clark County Commissioner and state lawmaker Tom Collins is trying to unseat incumbent Anita Wood.

The election department had received 4,046 absentee ballots in Las Vegas, 2,385 in Henderson and 886 in North Las Vegas as of Friday night.

Below is a look at the candidates in each race. For more background about this year’s municipal elections, read our previous story.

LAS VEGAS

City Council Ward 2: Bob Beers, Laura Feher, Christina Roush, Steve Seroka

City Council Ward 4: Stavros Anthony, Jon Edge, Deborah Harris, Sean Lyttle

City Council Ward 6: Ryan M. Alarid, Adam K. Christian, Matthew G. Consoli, Michele Fiore, Chris Garvey, Joel Jarvis, Allen Jordan, Reid Rasner, Kelli Ross, Thaddeus A. Ynigues

Municipal Court Judge Department 3: Heidi Almase, Cara Campbell, Robert Kurth

Municipal Court Judge Department 5: Crystal Eller, Cedric Kerns

HENDERSON

Mayor: Anthony S. Csuzi, Angelo R. Gomez, Eddie “Swamper” Hamilton, Crystal Hendrickson, Debra March, Jerry Sakura, Rick Workman

City Council Ward 3: Carrie Cox, Matthew P. DeFalco, John Marz

NORTH LAS VEGAS

Mayor: Gary Bouchard, John Lee, DeQuincy “Quincy” Taylor

City Council Ward 1: Isaac Barron, Hector Rivera

City Council Ward 3: Ender Austin III, Scott Black, Tom Collins, Wilson “Will” Crespo, Anita Wood

Feature photo caption: Las Vegas City Hall is seen on Thursday, March, 16, 2017. Photo by Jeff Scheid.

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