Only Wolfson unopposed

Except for Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Wolfson, who drew no opponents by the end of the filing period Friday, every council and mayoral seat in the Las Vegas Valley is being contested.

Las Vegas has six people vying for an open City Council seat and two challengers in another race trying to unseat an incumbent.

In North Las Vegas, five people are vying for the mayor's chair.

And in Henderson, six contenders filed for an open City Council seat and five for the mayorship.

The primary vote will take place April 7 and the general election June 2.

The Ward 4 Las Vegas City Council seat has attracted the most attention, with six people signing up for a race in which there is no incumbent.

The candidates are Stavros Anthony, a Las Vegas police officer and university system regent; Sam Christos, a teacher, casino dealer and real estate agent; Gary Hosea, a Clark County employee and former County Commission candidate; Yvonne Karim, a flight attendant; Teresa Price, who filed Friday afternoon and could not be reached for comment; and Glenn Trowbridge, a former Clark County official who sits on the Las Vegas Planning Commission.

"I expected more than that, frankly," Trowbridge said about the crowded field. "It's rare that there's a bona-fide vacant seat."

Christos said the field could make it easier for lesser-known candidates to make the general election because municipal voting draws low turnout, and low-cost, grass-roots organizing can be effective.

In Ward 6, incumbent Steve Ross is challenged by Scott Anderson, a real estate agent, and attorney Jennifer Taylor.

Ward 2 Councilman Wolfson is unchallenged.

The final day of filing in Henderson drew four more candidates, including former Police Chief Michael Mayberry, who entered what figures to be a slugfest to replace outgoing Mayor Jim Gibson.

Already in the race were former City Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, current Councilmen Andy Hafen and Steve Kirk, and attorney Richard Charles Sipan.

Mayberry had logged more than 29 years with the city when he retired as chief in 2005 at the age of 52. At the time, he cited his health as the reason for his departure.

Also Friday, three more candidates joined the race to replace term-limited City Councilman Jack Clark in Ward 3. The late entrants included Jim Dunn, Jason Frayer and Brandon Casutt, who ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate last year as a Democrat. They will share the primary ballot with Kathleen Boutin, Bruce Cutler and Cathy Rosenfield.

The other open seat is in Department 2 of Henderson Municipal Court, where incumbent Douglas Hedger faces challenger E. Matthew Zobrist.

In North Las Vegas, three sitting City Council members, a former Planning Commissioner and a street preacher vie for term-limited Mayor Michael Montandon's seat.

City Council members Shari Buck, William Robinson and Stephanie Smith all are running for mayor.

Joining them is Ned Thomas, 43, a former planning commissioner who works as an urban planner for Henderson, and John 3:16 Cook, a 76-year-old homeless advocate and street preacher.

Buck, 48, is a native North Las Vegan who is in the middle of her third term representing Ward 4.

Robinson, the city's 69-year-old mayor pro tem, has served on the City Council since 1983. He is prohibited from running for an eighth term representing Ward 2 because of term limits adopted by the city.

Smith, 51, is at the end of her third term representing Ward 3 and can't run again because of term limits. She also is an orchestra teacher for Saville Middle School.

Six candidates are vying for the Ward 3 seat.

Other seats up for election in the city are City Council Ward 1, held by Robert Eliason, and Municipal Court Judge Department 2, held by Sean Hoeffgen. Each has drawn two challengers. On Friday, Marsha Kimble-Simms, an attorney with Simms Law Firm in Las Vegas, filed for the seat.

Voters in Boulder City will have 10 candidates to chose from, none of them incumbents, as they run to fill two open seats on the City Council.

That race is almost certain to require a runoff during the June 2 general election.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@ reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435. Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285. Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.