New member of Henderson City Council sworn into office

Henderson’s City Council no longer has a vacant seat after Jim Seebock was sworn in to represent Ward 1 Tuesday night.

“It’s nice to have a full council again,” Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero said after Seebock was sworn in.

Seebock thanked his family, friends, campaign staff and voters for his victory in a speech after he was sworn in. He called Henderson “the best city in the country” and said that he looks forward to working with the council and city staff.

“I promise to do my utmost with a work ethic that is second to none to serve the city,” Seebock said in his speech.

Seebock said during his campaign that he plans to continue working as an assistant sheriff for the Metropolitan Police Department while also serving on the City Council.

A special election

Seebock’s seat on the council came through a special election held at the start of April. It was the first ward-based election in the city’s history, according to City Clerk Jose Luis Valdez, with only residents of Ward 1 permitted to participate in the voting due to a ballot measure passed last year.

The special election was also Henderson’s first special election to fill a ward vacancy on the City Council and the first special election the city held that used mail-in ballots.

Vacant seats on the City Council can be filled by either appointment by the council or by special election. Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero and Councilwoman Carrie Cox expressed appreciation that the Ward 1 seat was decided by an election.

“It was really important to be able to give the residents a voice,” Cox said about the election. “It’s wonderful to be able to be part of a team who felt that was important.”

Seebock won the seat with 1,941 votes, accounting for 26.1 percent of the total votes cast. The final vote tallies were officially canvassed by the city on April 13.

Valdez was happy with the special election’s turnout, saying it surpassed what he and his team expected.

“The turnout was much higher than what any of us thought it might be for something like this,” Valdez said. “I’m really encouraged that people were motivated to come out and vote.”

According to the official Clark County election results, 7,467 Ward 1 voters cast ballots in the election, accounting for 13.9 percent of the ward’s total voter population.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCredicoII.