Incumbent has ample cash edge

John Stephens is a library assistant whose last campaign contribution report showed that he had raised just $610.

His opponent is a six-term incumbent and the North Las Vegas mayor pro tem who, according to his last report, had raised more than $114,000 toward his campaign.

Still, Stephens, 41, remains positive about his chances for taking North Las Vegas's City Council Ward 2 seat away from William Robinson in the June 5 municipal general election.

"I may not have all the monies that William Robinson has raised," he said. "But I don't think that's a litmus test for the legitimacy of a candidate. I still feel really good."

And Robinson isn't taking anything for granted.

"He (Stephens) signed up to run, so as far as I'm concerned, he's a viable candidate," the 66-year-old said.

Stephens, a 20-year resident of North Las Vegas and a lifelong Southern Nevada resident, proceeded directly to the general election along with Robinson after a third candidate for the Ward 2 seat withdrew before the primary.

Stephens has focused his campaign on revitalizing parts of Ward 2 that he says have been neglected in favor of newer, more affluent areas. He said Robinson is out of touch with many of the issues and people in the ward.

"A lot of people in the community say they didn't know who William Robinson was or what he looked like," he said.

But Robinson said he's an expert on the neighborhood.

"My philosophy is, if a mosquito sneezes in Ward 2, I better know about it," he said.

Ward 2 roughly encompasses neighborhoods south of Cheyenne Avenue and north of Las Vegas Boulevard, between Las Vegas Boulevard and Rancho Drive; and neighborhoods north of Cheyenne and south of Washburn Road, between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Allen Lane.

Robinson said he has been campaigning door to door. He has focused on bringing new businesses to the district.

But, he said, he has been hearing complaints about "anything under God's sun" from his constituents.

"Crime, graffiti, traffic congestion," he said. "It's all part of the overall picture. I'm already focusing on it."

Should he win, Robinson will be forced to retire when his seventh term expires in 2011 because of term limits adopted by the city in the late 1990s.

Robinson, who first took office in 1983, is called by some the "grandfather" or "grand old man" of the council. Since he took office, the city has quadrupled in population and has become the second-fastest-growing large city in the country.

Stephens has also criticized Robinson for being unaware that several halfway houses for sex offenders were operating in the city. Neighbors were outraged when they discovered the transitional homes were in their neighborhoods.

"I would definitely focus on making sure no more open up or operate in my ward or in the city," Stephens said. "When a halfway house opens up, you see heightened crime, and houses start going up for sale. Property values go down."

But Robinson, who had two public meetings about the issue, said he did what was necessary as soon as he became aware of the problem.

Nevada's Division of Parole and Probation has since worked to move the offenders, citing licensing concerns and the outrage among neighbors.

Robinson said he too wants to breathe new life into older areas of the ward.

"It's obvious that it needs a lot of work," he said. "We've got to create some kind of economic development there."