Henderson candidate’s residency challenged

Two siblings have challenged the residency of Henderson City Council candidate Thomas Wagner because he owns a home outside the district he is running to represent.

Edward Kantor and Katherine Caro, who are brother and sister, filed protests with the city. They claim Wagner's primary residence is at 2728 Carolina Blue Blvd. in Ward 2, making him ineligible for the Ward 1 race.

Wagner, 46, a Las Vegas police officer, is in a five-way contest for the seat. City Council candidates must live in the districts they would represent if elected.

"I think it's wrong for somebody to move into a district just to run for office," said Caro, a Henderson resident who supports incumbent Gerri Schroder. "It's deceitful to voters."

Wagner said he is divorced with grown children, so he no longer needs a 3,800-square-foot house that kicks up hefty utility bills.

Rather than sell the home in the bad market, he decided to rent it out and lease a smaller, three-bedroom place, he said.

Wagner dismissed the notion that he moved to an area just to jump into a political race. If that was his aim, he could have moved to the district where Councilman Steve Kirk is vacating his seat and faced no incumbent, Wagner said.

He noted that four years ago he took on Andy Hafen, who now is mayor, in the Ward 2 contest and lost by only 85 votes.

"I ran a pretty darned good race," Wagner said. "I'm a resident of Henderson for 23 years, and all of a sudden I'm this bad guy because I moved to a different district."

Wagner said he planned to give city officials copies of the lease agreements for both houses and an affidavit from his real estate agent.

Kantor said he remembered Wagner's race against Hafen in 2007, and he became curious when he saw Wagner running against Schroder.

Kantor researched the Clark County assessor's website and saw that Wagner still owned a house outside Schroder's district.

"If he can show he has (proper) residency, then he has the right to defend himself," Kantor said.

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