Monorail steals limelight in race

The Las Vegas Monorail doesn't come within 20 miles of Boulder City, but you'd never know it from the City Council campaign now being waged in the community of about 17,000 people.

The race pits former City Councilman Bill Smith against Cam Walker, who used to manage the day-to-day operation of the monorail.

Walker's critics paint the monorail as a colossal failure that Walker helped orchestrate and then ran into the ground.

Walker defends the transit line, for which he said taxpayers ultimately bear no financial responsibility.

And he said he deeply values his experience with the project, which he helped shepherd from groundbreaking to operation, first as a consultant, then as president of the monorail's management company.

"They want to act like I did it all. I had a job, and I'm proud of the job I did for some of the greatest minds in the state of Nevada," Walker said.

Those minds include Henderson Mayor and former monorail executive Jim Gibson and Walker's late father-in-law, Bob Broadbent, a Clark County political heavyweight for whom the monorail is named.

Smith's take on Walker's former job: "My question would be, 'If the monorail was such a success and he was so good at running it, why isn't he still there?' "

Early voting lasts through today. Tuesday is Election Day.

During the primary election, Walker and Smith finished second and third respectively out of a field of 10 candidates. First-place finisher Duncan McCoy received enough votes in the primary to win one of the two open council seats outright.

Smith is being backed by City Council members Travis Chandler and Linda Strickland.

Walker boasts the support of Mayor Roger Tobler, outgoing council members Andrea Anderson and Mike Pacini, Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City, and state Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas.

So far, Walker said his first run for elected office has been a frustrating one.

He said he has tried to engage Smith in public debate on issues important to Boulder City.

Instead, he has been forced to spend much of the campaign responding to attacks, most of them involving the monorail.

Actually, it's the perfect illustration of why he decided to run in the first place, the 13-year Boulder City resident said.

"We get caught up in the problems of the past instead of planning for the future. We have lengthy council meetings about the small things when we have larger things to worry about," he said.

As far as Walker is concerned, the two biggest issues facing the community are its mounting debt -- now roughly $100 million, much of which comes from the construction of the city's second municipal golf course and a water line to serve it -- and the coming traffic nightmare expected when the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge opens.

Walker, who now works for a St. Louis-based construction company that specializes in large public buildings, said he has the experience, the relationships and the vision necessary to address those problems.

He said he is shocked the bypass bridge in particular has not been a bigger issue in the campaign. Walker said the city needs to act immediately to develop an emergency response plan for the accidents and hazardous material spills that are sure to result from the increased truck traffic.

He also wants the city to keep lobbying state and federal officials to fund a $500 million highway loop to carry the bridge traffic around Boulder City.

Smith has lived in Boulder City for the past 19 years. He served on the council from 1997 to 2001, and he has made three unsuccessful runs for mayor.

If elected, Smith said one of his first orders of business will be to take a look at the city's management of its utility fund, which collects payments residents make for water and power service.

He said the city has been syphoning off money from the utility fund to prop up the general fund, a practice that needs to stop.

Smith has operated several small businesses in his life, and he said he would take a similar approach to running the city, starting with eliminating unnecessary positions and more aggressively negotiating labor contracts.

But then there is this: Smith is 83 years old, which means if he wins, he will be 87 at the end of his first term.

Smith said a few voters have asked him if he is up for that, and he doesn't shy away from the topic.

"That's a logical question," he said, but it's also "one thing I can't change."

Smith insists he is in excellent health. The only medication he takes regularly is a daily dose of plain old over-the-counter aspirin.

"My problem is unless I look in the mirror, I don't feel my age," he said.

Smith added with a chuckle, "One benefit to me running is they're not going to have to worry about me running up against term limits."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.