CLARK COUNTY COMMISSION DISTRICT C

An eight-year incumbent's decision not to run again for the Clark County Commission has left a seat up for grabs and attracted nine candidates who want to fill the District C slot.

After serving two terms, Commissioner Chip Maxfield, a Republican, will leave office.

In the primary, two Democrats and five Republicans will vie for spots in the general election. Primary winners will join Warren Ross Markowitz, an Independent American, and Emily Klapproth, a Libertarian on the general election ballot.

Two candidates now hold elected positions, while the others have a variety of professional and educational backgrounds. Growth, budgetary issues and term limits are on the list of candidates' concerns.

On the Democratic ballot, Larry Brown, 51, a Las Vegas City Councilman, will square off against Jeff Campbell, 57, a longtime county employee who retired July 7.

Brown, who has a bachelor's degree in government, said his top priority is crafting a budget that works.

"It's the foundation of local government," Brown said. "You really have to be able to understand how revenues come into the county and, more importantly, how they leave the county."

Brown said he would approach the county budget in a way similar to the way the city of Las Vegas handles its budget because he believes that's an efficient method.

The most challenging task is deciding what services and programs to fund beyond the essential ones such as sewer, water, roads and public safety, he said. His experience with the city will prove beneficial with that, Brown said.

Campbell, a high school graduate, said he believes teachers deserve raises just like anyone else.

He also would push to ensure new development is zoned in accord with the county's master plan. And he would try to steer development away from rural areas to avoid having homeowners clash with farmers.

"Put a little more thought into it," Campbell said. "We need growth that keeps the economy going."

On the Republican side, Assemblywoman Valerie Weber said she wants to focus more on fixing specific problems that affect neighborhoods, be it pot holes or broken streetlights.

Government should be accessible, accountable and transparent, Weber said, because citizens deserve nothing less.

"We all serve the citizens," Weber said. "Citizens are paying for government."

Weber, who has a master's degree in organizational management, said she believes that making government less cumbersome to businesses and residents is the key to nursing the economy back to health.

Karen Sweeney, 49, who has a bachelor's degree in business, believes in controlling growth. The commissioners, she said, tend to let projects sail through, including a parking garage that will be built in her west valley neighborhood even though it doesn't conform to the master plan.

"They didn't care what their constituents wanted," Sweeney said. "I've been tired of the way the commissioners have been acting in the past few years. It's time for a change."

Roberta "Bobbye" Fitzgibbons, 69, a legal assistant at her husband's law firm, also believes in responsible growth.

Although she describes herself as "very, very conservative," Fitzgibbons, who has a two-year degree, said she is an environmentalist who is concerned with how the county will deal with its diminishing water supply. She said she opposes piping in water from outside the county, in part because it will deplete water in remote areas, possibly hurting wildlife and outdoor recreation.

Being a political newcomer is an asset because "no one owns me," she said.

Bill Krane, who has a doctorate in history, also played up the virtue of being an outsider.

"I'm 75. Nobody can buy me," Krane said.

However, he's not a complete stranger to politics, having run against Maxfield four years ago and garnering several thousand votes, he said.

His main concerns are falling house prices, rising taxes and neighborhood issues such as muffling freeway noise and increasing public safety. He also supports enforcing strict, three-term limits.

Elected leaders "are all trying to back out of term limits because they've all served for a long time," Krane said.

Gary Marinch, 53, who ran for state Senate in 2004, said term limits should be tightened.

"I don't think anyone should be in more than two terms," said Marinch, arguing that personal gain is often a politician's motive. "Investigate anyone who's been in two terms and see how much money they had when they started versus now."

Marinch, who has a business degree, said an elected leader is supposed to be a truthful voice of the people. Instead, the public is told lies, such as the region has run out of water, he said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.