Incumbent, two others vie for Las Vegas Ward 5 seat

In Las Vegas' Ward 5, the race is between an incumbent who can point to a lot of projects and development in the ward, a newcomer who wants the city to rethink its priorities and a Realtor who feels that fighting foreclosures is priority No. 1.

Ricki Barlow has been on the City Council since 2007, and in that time the ward has seen a lot of changes, from development downtown to infrastructure upgrades.

"I'm emphasizing economic development, bringing more jobs back into the ward," Barlow said. "There's a lot of development."

He helped entice a grocery store into the West Las Vegas neighborhood, which had been without one for years. Lorenzi Park is being remodeled, Martin Luther King Boulevard has been resurfaced and landscaped, and plans are in place to reopen F Street at Interstate 15, an issue Barlow took heat for when the city closed it as part of work on the highway. Work on improving B Street and renovating the historic West Side School is planned.

The area most touted for downtown redevelopment -- Symphony Park and the East Fremont District -- are in Ward 5 as well, and while work is proceeding Barlow acknowledged that the employment benefits aren't reaching his ward the way they're supposed to.

New requirements for developers working in the city's redevelopment area will be presented to the City Council in April, Barlow said.

"We want them to drill down and identify those qualified individuals" who live in the redevelopment area boundaries, Barlow said. "If they're not qualified, get some training for them."

Randy Voyard, a 10-year city resident, also supports downtown development, but he thinks the city is focusing too heavily on entertainment projects. He proposes a long-term transition facility for combat veterans who need help readjusting to life outside of war zones.

That's not strictly a city responsibility, he noted, but he argued that building a sports arena -- something Las Vegas has pursued for years -- isn't either.

"It's an opportunity for the city to redefine itself as far as what it can offer," Voyard said. "If we're going to be spending that kind of money, I think it would be a better use of that money to get a bunch of guys who are trainable, disciplined and ready to move on in life."

Voyard also said the city's licensing and permitting process is burdensome and unpredictable. He supports simplifying it, making it less expensive and perhaps even removing the need for some licenses, such as home offices, altogether.

That could be an incentive to get businesses into vacant commercial space, he said. For instance, inspection fees could be waived or deferred.

Richard Deeds, an Assembly candidate in 2008 and 2010, is in real estate. He said every public official needs to be focused on solving the foreclosure crisis.

He criticized the current council for pursuing projects such as a sports arena or a new city hall, saying, "Those don't help people."

"I would just like the opportunity to be a city councilman and work with the power of that office to see if we can't get some relief for those homeowners," he said.

He said he's frustrated when banks foreclose on a house instead of negotiating a new mortgage based on the home's current value, then put it on the market at closeout prices. But he wasn't sure what a councilman's role in addressing that would be.

"Maybe as a city councilman there's nothing I could do," Deeds said. "At least as a councilman I could use that office to reach out and maybe help these people."

Stanley Washington, whose name is on the ballot, said he has withdrawn from the race in order to support Voyard.