Tony Liker Longtime attorney and former city prosecutor Bill Gonzalez Clark County deputy public defender and Las Vegas Housing Authority vice chairman Patrick Antonio Ferguson Deputy attorney general ran for district attorney Martin Hastings Attorney in Las Vegas for 17 years with experience as prosecutor Lynn Avants Trial attorney in Clark County Public Defender's Office for nine years Bill Henderson Truancy master and alternate hearing master in Family Court George Greenberg Judge pro-tem in Justice Court has run his law firm for 16 years

With a crowded field of respected attorneys vying for the Las Vegas Municipal Court Department 6 judgeship, the candidates are working hard to separate themselves from the pack in the eyes of voters.

One of the candidates, attorney Martin Hastings, is walking neighborhoods three days a week. And his campaign budget is more than $100,000 for what has been viewed as a relatively low-profile judicial position.

Deputy Public Defender Lynn Avants is pounding the pavement and reaching out to voters as well. So are Bill Gonzalez, Patrick Antonio Ferguson, Bill Henderson and George Greenberg, who has also taken out print ads and aired television commercials.

I'm "walking between three and four days a week right now," Hastings said. "We've done a direct-mail approach ... direct-mail fliers. Our budget for the primary was $120,000. I think we are going to be close to $100,000. It's some bucks."

Here's a rundown of the field:

• Avants, 37, is the son of Las Vegas police veteran Beecher Avants, who worked for years as the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department's robbery homicide unit.

The younger Avants has been a trial attorney in the Clark County Public Defender's Office for nine years. He also was a defense attorney for high-profile homicide suspect Brookey Lee West, who was convicted of killing her mother and stashing her body in a Las Vegas storage shed.

Avants has run a campaign telling voters that as a judge he will keep their neighborhoods safe through a tough-on-crime approach.

"I have the experience and knowledge to be a fair, impartial and honest judge," Avants said.

• Ferguson, 36, a deputy attorney general, made a run for Clark County district attorney last year, finishing within 10 percentage points of incumbent David Roger despite being a huge underdog.

"We want to set the bar a little bit higher," Ferguson said. "We are going to have a Municipal Court where the phrase 'just a misdemeanor' doesn't apply. While it isn't capital cases in Municipal Court, I think there is an expressed desire in the public to take these cases a little more seriously."

• Gonzalez worked his way through college as a telephone technician and equipment installer. He has both a law degree and a master's degree in business administration.

He has been a Clark County deputy public defender since 1999, representing children in the juvenile division. He is also vice chairman of the Las Vegas Housing Authority board.

"Judges play an important role in our community," Gonzalez said. "My background gives me the necessary tools to immediately assure the public that justice will be served swiftly and fairly while the litigants will receive a reasonable hearing."

• Greenberg, 48, is a judge pro-tem in Justice Court and has run a successful law firm for 16 years in Clark County.

He said Municipal Court needs a judge who has extensive experience in the private sector.

"I've helped thousands of people sort through their problems in a wide-ranging practice as opposed to public sector employees," Greenberg said. "I think we are drawing too much on public defenders and district attorneys for judges. We need more representation from the private sector of the courts."

Greenberg said he isn't taking any campaign contributions to demonstrate to the voters his independence as a judicial candidate who will work solely on behalf of the public.

"It's completely self-funded, and this is how I'd like to arrive at the bench," Greenberg said of his campaign.

• Hastings, 42, a 17-year Las Vegas attorney, says at least part of the reason he wants to be a judge is personal.

"My mom used to say never complain if you are not willing to do something about it," Hastings said. "My father was killed by drunk driver. My mother was kidnapped out of her house just recently. Our house was broken into and (my wife) was attacked.

"I'm proud of my experience as a prosecutor and attorney, but for me I have many close personal experiences that also qualify me for this office."

• Henderson, 48, is a 20-year lawyer in Las Vegas. He is also a Clark County truancy master and alternate hearing master in Family Court. He came about 1,000 votes shy of winning a District Court judgeship in November, losing by the slimmest of margins to now-District Judge Elizabeth Halverson.

Henderson said his extensive courtroom experience qualifies him for the job.

"The race is full of attorneys who derive their income from representing criminal defendants," Henderson said. "Some are public defenders. Some are in private practice. But in their mailers ... they make no mention of what they do for a living.

"I'm the most balanced, the most experienced, the most level-headed," Henderson said.

• Tony Liker, 42, is the attorney who advertises in town as the "NFL tough, Stanford smart" lawyer. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL and played football at Stanford.

He is a longtime attorney and a former city prosecutor. He was previously arrested on a domestic violence charge in Las Vegas over a physical confrontation with a roommate, but he said the charge was later dismissed when authorities reviewed the facts of the case.

"I'd loved to be judge, and it's up to voters and God," Liker said.