Seven vie to fill open North Las Vegas Ward 2 seat

For the first time in nearly 30 years, residents in North Las Vegas's Ward 2 will have a new representative.

Seven candidates are competing to replace Councilman William Robinson, who has served seven terms and must surrender his seat because of term limits adopted by the city in the late 1990s.

That seat could wind up being claimed by someone of the same name, as Robinson's son, William E. Robinson II, is among the candidates.

Also running are Tanya Flanagan, Carl Gatson, Pamela Goynes-Brown, Linda Meisenheimer, Anthony D. Snowden and John Stephens III.

The primary election is April 5. Early voting starts today at City Hall, and at other locations Saturday, and extends through April 1. In races in which no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers move on to the June 7 general election.

Flanagan said she is undaunted by the crowded field of candidates.

"The competition isn't very tough if you line up resumes and experience," she said.

Flanagan has served as co-chairwoman of the citizens advisory council for Metropolitan Police Department's Bolden Area command and of the Southern Nevada Gang Task Force Intervention Subcommittee. She is a member of North Las Vegas's utility advisory council and of the board of directors for the After-School All-Stars. She volunteers for several groups, including Boys & Girls Clubs and Camp Anytown. She once worked as a reporter for the Review-Journal.

If elected, among her priorities would be to study whether the city maintains adequate public safety staffing. She does not support cuts to public safety.

"We have foreclosures, people losing their jobs," she said. "You want to make sure people feel safe."

Flanagan holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from the University of Arizona and an executive master of business administration degree from UNLV.

Gatson said his experience as a budget coordinator makes him the candidate best able to navigate complex budget issues in the cash-strapped city.

"I look at numbers up close and personal," he said. "I see how budgets are built and the fat in them."

He declined to be specific about what fat is in North Las Vegas' budget.

"I'm not inside yet," he said. "There's some window dressing, I can tell you that."

Gatson, who was born and raised in the Las Vegas Valley, holds a bachelor's degree in general studies from the University of Nevada, Reno and an executive certificate in financial planning from UNLV.

If elected, he said he will focus on "economic prosperity" in the city, working to "suspend fees that prevent new businesses" from coming to North Las Vegas.

"That will provide an immediate jump start to the economy," he said.

Goynes-Brown said her family's legacy helped influence her to run for office. She is the daughter of Theron Goynes, who spent 20 years on the council.

Watching her dad work on the council as a child was rewarding, she said.

"We learned a lot, met influential people," she said. "My family has longevity in the city."

If elected, Goynes-Brown said she would work to get the city a larger share of the state's tax revenue. City officials have long argued North Las Vegas doesn't get its fair share. She also would support offering businesses incentives to come to the city.

"Maybe we could lessen fees, help with moving expenses and start-up costs," she said.

She understands how important it is to bring jobs to the city, she said. Her husband, a member of a local laborers' union, is unemployed.

"I know what it means to struggle," she said. "I can relate to what people are going through."

Goynes-Brown holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She also holds a master's degree in elementary education and an educational endorsement in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Meisenheimer cited her father's influence among reasons she chose to run for office. Her father, Bob Borgersen, frequently speaks at City Council meetings.

"He said, 'You have these concerns. Why don't you funnel your ideas this way?' " she said.

Meisenheimer, a 10-year North Las Vegas resident, is originally from Chicago. She served as president of her local and regional Parent Teacher Association in Chicago and on the board of the district and state PTA there. Here, she serves the community through her church.

"I volunteer countless hours every week," she said.

If elected, Meisenheimer said she would focus on ways to generate more revenue for the city. She supports the council's recent decision to pay an architectural firm $500,000 to start developing a master plan for an international business community in the city. She wants to look at increasing efforts to collect on unpaid utility bills.

"If we could get people to pay, we might be able to save jobs," she said.

William E. Robinson II often sat at his father's side during council meetings as a child.

He said he decided to run for the seat because he "felt there was going to be a void in leadership" upon his father's departure.

"What better person to run than someone who's been around the council for such a long time?" he said.

The lifelong North Las Vegas resident said sharing a name with a long-term council member could be a blessing or a curse.

"My dad has been there a long time and made a lot of friends and enemies," he said. "In my eyes, I'm the underdog. That pushes me to work even harder."

Robinson holds a bachelor's degree in university studies from UNLV and has served on a North Las Vegas citizens advisory committee, among other boards. If elected, he said his first priority will be to bring more businesses to the city, perhaps by offering tax breaks and other incentives.

Snowden is known for his community activism and for running unsuccessfully for several local offices, including Las Vegas mayor, Clark County Commission and state assembly.

He has a unique idea for creating jobs in North Las Vegas: Bring an amusement park to the city.

"I want to make North Las Vegas a family destination," he said. "An amusement park would create jobs, diversify our economy and help rebrand the city."

He said he's still researching how to go about this but envisions it as some kind of "public-private collaboration."

Snowden served in the Marine Corps, has a degree in nursing from Clark County Community College -- now known as the College of Southern Nevada -- and serves on the board of the Las Vegas Urban League.

He has been known to butt heads with elected representatives during public meetings.

"Politicians need to hear from the public, even if they don't like what you have to say," he said.

Stephens has run unsuccessfully for several public offices, including against the elder Robinson for Ward 2 in 2007. Stephens has run for state Assembly and Clark County Commission.

He said instead of thinking of him as a perennial candidate, voters should think of him as "consistent."

"I don't wait for people to step down or be term-limited," he said. "I've been running and trying to serve the same area for years. I'm a political warrior."

Stephens said he has more knowledge about North Las Vegas than other candidates because he has regularly attended council meetings since 2006.

To bring more jobs to Ward 2, Stephens said he would support a requirement that new businesses hire a certain number of its workers from the area to get tax breaks or other incentives. If there aren't enough qualified employees in the ward, the company would be required to train a certain number of people there to do the work.

Stephens holds bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from UNLV. He writes for the Las Vegas Sentinel Voice newspaper.

North Las Vegas City Council members serve four-year terms and earn $41,827 a year.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.