Collins, other Clark County commissioners easily win re-election

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins sailed to victory Tuesday night, easily winning his third and final four-year term on the board.

The self-dubbed "cowboy commissioner" trounced his opponent, longtime School Board member Ruth Johnson, despite a few incidents this year that landed Collins in legal trouble.

There were no surprises for Collins' colleagues, either. The three other commissioners - all Democrats - easily won re-election.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak easily defeated Republican Barry Herr. Commissioner Larry Brown, 55, defeated Republican Craig O. Lake, 29, who poured in hundreds of thousands of his own dollars into his campaign. And Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, 48, cruised past Republican Wesley Cornwell, 21.

"I'm proud and humbled by the fact that they've given me four more years on the commission," Sisolak, 58, said.

Democrats continue to occupy all commission seats; voters haven't elected a Republican since 2004.

Johnson, 52, was perhaps the Republicans' best chance at earning a seat Tuesday. She was a known candidate, and Collins, 62, faced scrutiny this year when he was charged by North Las Vegas police for illegally discharging a firearm - shooting a shrub at his home. The charge was dismissed.

Also, a bull he owned escaped, sending a woman to the hospital and netting him two misdemeanor charges and $2,274 in fines. But Johnson failed to capitalize on those events, raising barely $17,000 by mid-October. Collins raised more than $260,000 over the same period.

For Lake, the owner of a lighting store, the resounding defeat doesn't sting, he said, even though he put nearly a quarter of a million dollars into the campaign. He estimates he spent about $100,000 of it.

"It never feels good to lose," he said.

But he said he wasn't too worried about the expense.

"Money is money," he said. "I'm more concerned about my hometown as a whole than I am about my campaign."

He said he doesn't regret running but wishes he could have had the chance to be elected and do something to turn around the struggling economy.

He said he received little support from Republicans.

"You don't win an election by yourself," he said. "I didn't get help from typical party people, and without that help, you just don't win an election."

Republicans in commission races were badly outmatched when it came to fundraising this year. Through the first 10 months, they raised about $250,000 collectively; almost all of that was Lake's money. By comparison, the Democratic incumbents raised more than $1.6 million.

History was also against them. Since 1988, the average margin of victory for an incumbent in a commission race was more than 32 percentage points.

This year saw the trend continue.

Herr, 59, knew he was facing a tough contest against Sisolak, who four years ago won the seat by just 1,500 votes.

"It was David and Goliath," the accountant said.

He said he hopes Sisolak does a good job over the next four years.

"Obviously, the better job he does for the county, the better it is for everyone," he said. "It's selfish to say anything else."

Sisolak said he hopes Herr will stay in politics.

He said the race was not nearly as close as the first one because he believes that constituents have been happy with what he's done in office. By taking on issues such as firefighter pay, he's developed a reputation as a hard-nosed watchdodg of county government.

"This is still sinking in," Sisolak said. "Right now I'm very, very pleased with this."

Three Independent American Party candidates - Brian Brassfield, Warren Markowitz and Brad Lee Barnhill - ran in districts A, B and C, respectively, but each were distant third-place finishers.

Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $72,488, plus, after four years of service, longevity pay of 2 percent for each year they have served. Members of the seven-member board serve as policymakers for unincorporated areas of the county. They approve the county's budget and serve as the board of directors for the Las Vegas Valley Water District and University Medical Center.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.