NLV council incumbents advance

      Incumbents John Rhodes and Paula Brown captured the most votes Tuesday in their respective races as a field of 15 candidates competed for three open seats on the North Las Vegas City Council.
      Joining Rhodes -- who captured almost 19 percent of the vote -- in the June 3 general election are former Assemblywoman Stephanie Smith with 13 percent, Planning Commissioner Robert Eliason with 12 percent and businesswoman Joanna Wesley with 12 percent.
      The four will compete for two four-year seats. The top two vote-getters in the general election will fill the two open seats.
      One two-year seat is open on the council. Brown led that race with 54 percent of the vote. In June, she will face Sylvester S. Rogers, who had 18 percent of the vote.
      Candidates Norman L. Kaye and Joe Alvin Haun finished that field with 16 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
      Most candidates said the availability of three open seats on the council -- plus the mayor's seat -- was an opportunity to bring fresh perspectives to the City Council.
      Rhodes said that even if he is re-elected in June, the council still would have a majority of fresh faces.
      "I've only been on there four years," he said. "Paula (Brown) is still new, and then there's the last seat to fill."
      Leaders in Tuesday's primary election were those who raised the most in campaign contributions.
      Based on reports filed with the City Clerk's office in late April, Councilman John Rhodes received $63,054, Eliason received $12,890, and Smith had $8,461.
      Wesley received $5,844 in campaign contributions
      In the race to obtain the two-year seat, Brown raised $51,191 and Rogers had $600, the lowest among the four candidates running for the two-year seat.
      "I expected to move to the general," Rogers said. "I'm a positive person. And I have a lot of credibility with the community."
      The winning candidates said they have different priorities they will address if they are successful in June.
      Business owner Wesley, 45, wants to see police officers doing more bike patrols.
      Eliason, 34 , wants to increase fees developers pay when they choose not to build parks.
      Smith, 39, an orchestra teacher, wants to establish town hall meetings for people to discuss rezonings before they are reviewed by the City Council.
      For the two-year seat, Brown said she wanted to follow through with adding more people to the city's Crime Prevention Task Force and incorporate development standards in the city's master plan.
      Brown, 49, started work as a councilwoman in January. She was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Mary Kincaid who now is a county commissioner.
      Rogers, 56, wants to strengthen code enforcement to help mature neighborhoods in the city. He also wants to establish a resource center to help young people get jobs.