County commission hopeful tells of plans to unseat Gates

By Shaun McKinnon
Review-Journal

      Las Vegas chiropractor Terry Akers said Tuesday he will knock on every door in District D if that's what it takes to force Clark County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates from office.
      Now all he needs is an election to run in.
     

Republican County Commission hopeful Terry Akers hands 1 1/2-year-old Erin McNally back to her aunt, Karen Fonbuena, on Tuesday at the West Las Vegas Library. Fonbuena was among a group of supporters who gathered to hear Akers announce he would challenge commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates in a possible recall election. Photo by Jeff Scheid.

Akers, a 34-year-old Republican, announced his plans to run against Democrat Atkinson Gates in a recall election that is still only tentative, depending on the outcome of an ongoing petition drive.
      "I'm confident the recall is going to go through," Akers said at a noontime news conference at the West Las Vegas Library. "I've been walking the district the past few weeks, meeting with people, and I have seen a groundswell of support. People are upset. I'm confident it's going to happen."
      Organizers of the recall face a May 9 deadline to collect at least 4,380 signatures of registered voters in Atkinson Gates' district. Charles Bennion, chairman of Citizens for Honest and Responsible Government, said Tuesday the group had collected about 2,700 signatures as of late last week and probably picked up several hundred more over the weekend.
      He said he expects to turn in more than enough signatures by the deadline. Once the petitions are submitted to the county elections department, the names will be checked and, if enough are valid, an election will be called.
      The recall group launched its campaign in March after Atkinson Gates was reprimanded by the state Ethics Commission for using her influence to try to obtain casino leases for her frozen daiquiri business. She still faces an Ethics Commission hearing to determine whether she improperly used her influence in connection with concession leases at McCarran International Airport.
      Atkinson Gates has called the recall effort a waste of taxpayer money and has vowed to move forward with her work in the district.
      Akers' decision to enter the race would be potentially bad news for Democrats. In a recall election, if voters turn out the recall target and no other candidates are on the ballot, the governor appoints a replacement, who would come from the same party as the ousted officeholder.
      Akers said he's running because "those of us who live in District D have seen our trust betrayed. The time has come for a representative who will fight for the people, a representative that is committed to enriching the community instead of enriching themselves."
      A newcomer to Southern Nevada politics, Akers is president of the National Black Republican Roundtable and a member of the board of directors of the Las Vegas Urban Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Clark County Republican Central Committee.
      He opened his chiropractic clinic in Las Vegas in 1996 after serving a residency with the chiropractor for the San Francisco 49ers.
      Akers said he believes the inner-city areas of District D are being ignored in the growth-fueled development boom.