City hall talk dominates candidate forum

Almost all the candidates for Ward 4 of the Las Vegas City Council don't support building a new city hall.

The one person who touted its potential benefits was only lukewarm in his support of the project.

Six people are seeking the open seat, and all of them were on hand to answer questions Wednesday night at the Desert Vista Community Center in Sun City.

A lot of the questions concerned areas in which the council has only a glancing influence -- such as education, the location of post offices -- but the new city hall question came up early in the evening.

Candidates Gary Hosea and Teresa Price said the public should have been allowed to vote before the council pressed forward with the project.

In the existing city hall, "part of it is breaking down, part of it is crumbling," Hosea said.

But given the current economic calamity, "maybe we should look at what the cost is of putting it on hold."

The project would put a lot of people to work, Price said, "but we don't need a new city hall."

Candidate Glenn Trowbridge said downtown redevelopment, of which a new city hall is part, is "central" to Las Vegas' long-term economic health.

While the plan was a good one when it was hatched, Trowbridge stressed that he only thought it was a good idea "at the time," and not in the current economic circumstances.

Candidate Yvonne Karim, citing city estimates, said that "we do know that redevelopment and a new city hall will create something like 13,000 jobs."

Karmin did not take a stance on the project.

Instead, she urged voters to make their opinions known to her so she can make a decision based on that feedback.

Stavros Anthony said he didn't favor spending $150 million to $267 million on the building when the city's budget is strained.

"We need to make sure we have services," Anthony said. "I am not in favor of building a new city hall."

He said the project's money should be spent to shore up services, although the funds are not sitting in an account ready to go.

The money would be borrowed for the express purpose of building construction.

Candidate Sam Christos said opposition to the project now is "irrelevant."

"We have already spent money on a new city hall," Christos said.

He said delays would waste those funds and make the eventual city hall construction more expensive.

"Let's focus on the positives that will come out of it," Christos said. "We need jobs so people will stay here, so people will spend money here."

The candidates are: Trowbridge, who is a former Clark County administrator and current chairman of the Las Vegas Planning Commission; Anthony, who is a Las Vegas Police captain and a university system regent; Christos, who is a teacher, real estate agent and casino dealer; Karim, a flight attendant; Hosea, a Clark County employee; and Price, a former Assembly candidate and daughter of former Assemblyman Bob Price.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.