Boulder City mayor re-elected; Woodbury, Leavitt win council seats

Boulder City Mayor Roger Tobler will have a chance to "take care of unfinished business" as the leader of the city by the dam, winning a second term outright Tuesday with nearly 55 percent of the vote.

Tobler defeated challengers Linda Strickland -- a city councilwoman who has a rocky relationship with Tobler -- and handyman Zachary Inman.

Rod Woodbury and Peggy Leavitt won election to the City Council, earning about 32 percent and 29 percent of the vote, respectively.

The pair prevailed over three other candidates for two open seats.

All three had the same message when asked for their priority: return civility to city government.

"I'm thrilled it's over," said Tobler, 45, who said he wants the city to end its bickering and work to fix what ails it. The part-time job pays $13,894 a year.

For the moment, traffic congestion is the most noticeable problem, but fiscal concerns are also an issue as the economy continues to limp along.

"We're in an economic downturn, but I'm going to make the same commitments for the next four years I did for the last four. This is a good city to be in," Tobler said.

"Our financial state of affairs is our biggest substantive issue," said Woodbury, the son of former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury and the brother of Assemblywoman Melissa Woodbury. "But more than anything, I want to return civility and respect to the City Council. I want to nurture a spirit of cooperation and focus on solutions, not problems."

Leavitt said she considered the election results a mandate from Boulder City voters. "They want us to be consensus driven," she said.

To help do that, Leavitt said she would organize town hall meetings where "citizens can talk about the issues and end the divisiveness. Voters have said they want us to work together for the good of the city."

Council members make $11,211 per year. The new term starts July 1.

Tobler took more than 50 percent of the vote, while Woodbury and Leavitt were picked on more than half of the ballots cast, each tallying more than twice as many votes as did their challengers.

Though there are no remaining election races in Boulder City this year, city voters will have a general election on June 7. Five questions on a variety of issues will appear on that ballot.

Contact reporter Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.