NLV Councilman Scott Black running for mayor

North Las Vegas Councilman Scott Black wants to be the city’s next mayor.

The Ward 3 representative officially launched his campaign Thursday evening at a restaurant packed with supporters.

He has served on the five-member City Council since 2017.

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown — the former council member and first Black mayor in Nevada history elected in 2022 — can’t run for re-election because of term limits.

She endorsed Black at the event.

“Scott’s goal and his job, I hope, is to carry that torch; keep that momentum moving up the line,” Goynes-Brown said.

Black also would be limited to one term if he wins.

“I’m proud to live in North Las Vegas, proud that my wife is from North Las Vegas. We raised our daughter in North Las Vegas,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier in the week. “I’m invested here.”

The two-week candidate filing period opens in March.

“I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Black added, “and I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to continue as the mayor and keep that momentum going.”

Public safety and housing

Black said public safety is his priority.

“I think (it’s) just investing in, proactively, in a safe community — whether it’s community outreach with the police department: recruiting, retaining, equipping — making sure that we have adequate responses when 911 calls come in and that the Fire Department gets there as quickly as possible to address the person’s immediate need,” he said.

Black added: “Those are the things that are keenly important to me, that are always going to be a challenge, but a challenge that we’re certainly not shirking away from.”

He touted the city’s action to bring police academies in-house after partnering with regional agencies in the past to train prospective officers.

Black said Nevada’s third-largest municipality, with a population nearing 300,000, has room to grow.

“We have lots of residential development in infill communities throughout North Las Vegas, with homes, multifamily affordable homes, age-restricted and affordable income-based homes,” he said. “There’s a wide variety of housing stock that’s coming online.”

The region is facing a critical shortage of affordable housing, local government officials have said.

Black said the city continues to build units and partners with nonprofits that help make them accessible.

“The way I look at affordable housing is … North Las Vegas has a value aspect to it,” he said. “The market is what the market is in terms of prices and interest rates, but we offer, I think, a great value for a home buyer, a renter or someone who has income restrictions, because we do have a variety of housing options.”

City’s economic prospects

Black noted that North Las Vegas transformed a threat of bankruptcy in 2013 into a fast-growing economy. He said the city is prepared to confront a downturn in the American economy.

“Every jurisdiction is hyper-aware of the changes that are going on, and certainly we follow it closely,” he said. “But the good news is, the things that we’ve done in the last decade to put ourselves in a strong fiscal situation, I think we’re as prepared now as any time for uncertainty.”

Black has high hopes for the Apex Industrial park, the city’s downtown renovation and the development of a medical district.

“The economy is becoming more diverse in North Las Vegas, and it has a lot to do with the industrial development out at the Apex Industrial Park,” he said. “We have diversity of economic growth in our community with small businesses, ‘restaurant row,’ new hotels throughout the community,” Black added.

About the candidate

Black was born in Henderson and raised in North Las Vegas. He had a stint as a church missionary after graduating from Rancho High School before returning to earn a communications bachelor’s degree from UNLV.

He later earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix. He had a 12-year career with UPS working in operations, sales and human resources, according to his biography.

He and his wife, Leana, started a small marketing firm in 2003, which they still operate.

Black said he appreciates the nonpartisan nature of the City Council.

“I can make a decision today in City Council and there’s a direct benefit to the community tomorrow,” he said. “If I get a constituent’s call and there’s an issue with the street light, if there’s a pothole, there’s unpermitted dumping, we can address that and improve a life immediately.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.