Municipal election season kicks off Tuesday

Voters will get a first look at candidates for city council and Municipal Court races as a nearly two-week filing window begins for those who want to hold public office in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas or Henderson.

Las Vegas, home to half of the 14 races set to appear on the June 2 municipal election ballot, boasts the hottest race to shape up ahead of candidate filing day, if not the hottest the city has seen in decades.

It pits Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony — a fierce opponent of using public funds to help pay for a $200 million downtown soccer stadium — against two-term Mayor Carolyn Goodman, perhaps the stadium’s staunchest supporter.

In Henderson, one incumbent councilman is facing a challenge from a financial adviser, while in North Las Vegas one councilman decided not to run, leaving at least two people to vie for his seat.

It’s possible new contests could emerge: The last day for candidates to file is Feb. 5 in Henderson and Feb. 6 in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

Las Vegas

The issue of whether to spend $56 million in taxpayer money to help pay for the soccer stadium could wind up alongside Anthony’s name on the June ballot, a move many expect would give the former Metro officer a huge boost at the polls.

But Anthony is far from the only one looking to capitalize on the stadium controversy at the ballot box. Longtime lobbyist and political consultant Lisa Mayo has courted nearly a dozen candidates, mostly Republicans, to jump onto the anti-stadium platform during this summer’s nonpartisan Las Vegas races.

No fewer than seven of those candidates live in Ward 3, where first-term councilman and stadium supporter Bob Coffin will look to defend a seat he won by fewer than 300 votes in a contest against former City Council executive assistant Adriana Martinez.

Only one of three hopefuls thought to be considering a run for Coffin’s seat could be reached for comment Monday.

Eric Krattiger, a real estate agent and self-described “financial services professional,” said he decided to throw his hat in the ring the moment he found out Coffin had provided one of the swing votes needed to approve construction of a 24,000-seat downtown soccer stadium.

Krattiger, a Republican, has never run for office and has yet to pick a campaign manager but figures he can ride the anti-stadium wave all the way to City Hall.

Mayo said Randy Voyard, another relatively unknown Republican, will file against stadium supporter Ricki Barlow in Ward 5. Voyard, who ran against Barlow in 2011, did not return requests for comment.

Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, the only stadium subsidy foe set to appear on the June ballot, said she may face a challenge from longtime planning commissioner and three-time City Council hopeful Ric Truesdell this summer. Truesdell did not return requests for comment.

Former Councilman Michael McDonald couldn’t rule out a run against Tarkanian on Monday. McDonald, chairman of the Nevada Republican Party, said he hadn’t yet discussed the issue with the Ward 3 councilwoman and doesn’t plan to announce a final decision on his candidacy until Friday.

Three Las Vegas Municipal Court judges — Department 1’s Cynthia Leung, Department 4’s Bert Brown and Department 6’s Martin Hastings — also go up for re-election in June. All three said they hadn’t heard of any potential challengers in their races.

Henderson

In the city’s only contested race so far, a 48-year-old financial adviser is challenging Councilman Sam Bateman, who’s running for a second term.

Derek Uehara, a Hawaii native, moved to Nevada in 2000 and Henderson in 2008. He said his experience in finance would help him oversee the city budget, in particular by encouraging new businesses to move to Henderson, bringing tax revenue.

Uehara said he was motivated to run after learning turnout in some previous city elections was under 10 percent. He said that shows residents aren’t engaged.

“We need people to care,” Uehara said.

Bateman said he has helped lead the city through a difficult time since his election in 2011. He said the city has balanced the budget and started to control salary and benefit costs while keeping taxes low.

Bateman, who opposes a property tax increase, said he wants to “encourage the right kind of growth” and bring more businesses to Henderson, including industrial companies.

A Clark County prosecutor in his day job, Bateman is proud of the city’s inclusion on many lists of the safest cities in America.

The winner of the race will represent Ward 4 in western Henderson, which includes Green Valley Ranch.

Two other council members, Gerri Schroder and Debra March, are running for re-election.

Schroder said she is proud of work the city has done to revitalize Lake Las Vegas and break ground on the Union Village health care campus. She said she has helped lead improvements in her ward, including repaving, road repairs and new sidewalks and landscaping.

Also up for re-election will be Douglas Hedger, one of the city’s three Municipal Court judges. He has been a judge for 12 years and an attorney for 25.

North Las Vegas

Two council seats are up for re-election in North Las Vegas, and one will be a wide-open race. Councilman Wade Wagner won’t be defending his Ward 4 seat.

Wagner, a Republican and a dentist, beat out incumbent Richard Cherchio by a single vote in 2011.

Cherchio, a Democrat, has said he will run for his old seat. Wagner said he will be rooting for Randy Robison, who Wagner said is planning to run. Robison is the director of legislative affairs with CenturyLink and a former executive director of the Nevada Association of School Boards. He could not be reached for comment.

The other race will be Ward 2, where Democrat and assistant principal Pamela Goynes-Brown will be defending her seat.

“My first four years were one of the city’s most challenging times and I think we’ve made lots and lots of progress,” Goynes-Brown said.

North Las Vegans will get to vote on one judicial race. Municipal Judge Sean Hoeffgen is up for election and is expected to defend his Department 2 seat.