New North Las Vegas city manager rose through the ranks

The new North Las Vegas city manager isn’t that new.

The North Las Vegas council threw its support behind the woman who has been acting city manager since June at Wednesday’s council meeting. Qiong Liu has been with North Las Vegas since 2005.

The other finalist for the job was John Patterson, city manager in Casper, Wyo., who withdrew from consideration 10 minutes before the council meeting, telling the mayor it was for reasons related to the results of the recent election.

While council members made a point of noting both candidates were great, little attention was spent on Patterson as the council heaped praise on Liu.

Council members complimented Liu on her background as an engineer, characterizing her as an old face offering a fresh perspective.

“She’s a no-nonsense gentle lamb,” Pamela Goynes-Brown said. “She says what she means.”

Liu came to the Las Vegas Valley in 1999 to work as Las Vegas’ transportation planning manager after work in the private sector with engineering firms. Seeing opportunity in North Las Vegas’ vast amounts of vacant land, Liu switched cities.

She said her inbox and phone had been blowing up all day with good luck wishes from city employees.

After the council announced their decision, the meeting paused so employees could line up and hug Liu.

Liu said she appreciated the confidence and that the council appreciated her “to the point” style.

“I’m an engineer,” Liu said. “I’m a straight shooter.”

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes.