40 candidates vying to replace Seaman on Las Vegas City Council

The Las Vegas City Council is considering 40 viable candidates to serve out former Councilwoman Victoria Seaman’s term after she stepped down last month to accept a job with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Seaman’s term in the seat representing about 127,000 residents in southwest Las Vegas was coming to a close in 2026.

Last week, the council decided against a costly special election to replace her, and instead chose to appoint someone to serve as a “caretaker” of the seat.

A three-day open application period, which closed Friday, led to the 40 qualified candidates. The applicants include attorneys, business executives and at least one city staffer.

The chosen interim will be required to vow not to run for the position in 2026 or interfere in the race — something city officials acknowledged was an “unenforceable promise.”

Qualified candidates had to live in the ward and be eligible voters.

Applications included supplemental council-provided questions. Councilman Brian Knudsen said the lawmakers reserved the right to conduct interviews.

The six-member council will vote on its top candidates, and the top three — or more if there’s a tie — will present their case at the next public meeting Sept. 17.

The council will then conduct a final vote.

“Whoever is interested in applying, it’s not an easy gig, you really have to dedicate some time and commitment to understand what Ward 2 is and what the city, overall, is,” Knudsen said last week.

Knudsen cited budgetary concerns in deciding against a special election, which was estimated to cost nearly $500,000 and be mostly conducted by mail-in ballots.

Officials noted that the winning interim candidate in an election would need to run again in 2026.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.