HENDERSON JUSTICE OF THE PEACE

Three political newcomers will have to overcome a well-known Henderson family name to become the township's next justice of the peace.

Prosecutor Sandy Allred DiGiacomo, attorneys Harvey Gruber and Ann Purser and Family Court Hearing Master David Gibson Sr. are vying for the newly created Las Vegas Justice Court Department 3. The top two vote-getters in the primary will face off in the general election.

Gibson, whose brother is Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, has mostly avoided politics in his nearly three decades as a Nevada lawyer. He ran for justice of the peace in 1986, but losing that close race and watching his brother fight through nasty campaigns was enough to keep him away, he said.

But Gibson, who served 25 years as a public defender before spending the past three years presiding over child abuse and neglect cases in Family Court, said he believes this race gives him the chance to move to the bench without battling a respected sitting judge.

The 57-year-old said his time deciding cases as a hearing master prepared him for the duties of justice of the peace.

After spending the past nine years as a criminal prosecutor in the Clark County district attorney's office, Allred DiGiacomo said she's ready to fulfill the dream she's had since a high school trip to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I've pretty much dedicated my career to public service. It's what I do. It's what I love," she said.

She said she has a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor, and she would take that to the bench.

"When you're a judge you need to make tough decisions, and I don't have a problem doing that," she said.

Allred DiGiacomo, 39, is married to fellow prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo, but she said she would recuse herself from any of his cases that came into her courtroom.

Purser, 36, believes her experience prosecuting misdemeanor cases as a deputy city attorney for Las Vegas and as a defense lawyer sets her apart from the other candidates. That experience gives her the best understanding of both sides of a case and enables her to make better decisions, she said.

She also has financial experience thanks to her first career as a corporate accountant, which she gave up to attend law school and pursue a career that meant more than punching a clock, she said.

She said she has found great satisfaction in helping people as a lawyer and hopes to continue that on the bench. As a judge she would push to create rehabilitation programs to help criminal defendants avoid cycling back into the system, she said.

"There are a lot of things that a judge can do that a prosecutor and defense attorney can't do," Purser said.

Gruber, 43, has handled civil and criminal cases in Henderson Justice Court for more than a decade and continues to do so. As a judge, Gruber said, he would make sure criminals are held accountable. He would also work to prevent frustrating delays in the courtroom.

He said he and Purser are political outsiders in the race, which allows them to be more independent.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.