Davis leads pack in comeback

      Ousted North Las Vegas Municipal Judge Gary Davis, once known for playing "Jailhouse Rock" over court loudspeakers, may soon be spinning Gene Autry's "Back in the Saddle Again."
      The one-time judge, removed from his seat in 1995 on misconduct charges, led three challengers Tuesday night in his fight to regain the post.
      Davis garnered 43 percent of the vote. North Las Vegas police Detective Warren Van Landschoot was his closest opponent with 29 percent.
      The two will square off in the general election June 3.
      "Obviously we would have preferred to win in the primary," Davis said. "But it's a little tough with three opponents.
      "In a lot of the neighborhoods where I was strong, we had a very poor turnout," he said. "Maybe people felt I was going to win and thought one vote wouldn't matter. We're positive, we've got quite a separation, and we feel good."
      Van Landschoot said he is confident he will pick up votes that went to Natalie Tyrrell, a 32-year-old lawyer at the Senior Law Project who received 25 percent of the vote.
      "We got it going," Van Landschoot said. "It's going to be a dog race, but I think we're going to get Natalie's support."
      Davis served as the city's municipal judge for 16 years until the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission stripped him of his position Dec. 4, 1995, for violating the judicial canons of ethics.
      He is appealing that decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.
      His three opponents used different tactics to try to block him from the bench.
      Tyrrell argued that, as the only lawyer in the field, she is better trained to be a judge.
      Van Landschoot, 52, a Southern Nevada resident for 45 years, stressed his 29 years of experience as a police officer and his extensive volunteer work in various community activities, including Little League and Boy Scouts.
      The other candidate, 58-year-old Steven Szostek, received 3 percent of the vote.
      Despite his problems with the discipline commission, Davis was the candidate to beat. He raised the most money, gave out flying discs and T-shirts as campaign promotion material and had the name recognition the others didn't.
      He took the position that he was ousted from office because he dared to challenge the discipline commission. "They are evil and need to be destroyed," he said.
      Voters, Davis predicted before the election, "believe what happened to me was wrong, and I was right to stand up to them."
      The discipline commission found Davis guilty of misconduct when he borrowed money from court employees, publicly endorsed and campaigned for another judge, conducted an antique business from his chambers and directed court employees to perform personal errands for him during work hours.
      Davis won the endorsement of the political action arm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and an alliance of black ministers.
      Van Landschoot won the endorsement of the Southern Nevada Central Labor Council and its affiliate member unions, five law enforcement groups, the North Las Vegas firefighters' union and Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid, whose son, Mark, is his campaign manager.