Organizers file petition in new attempt to recall Ross

The organizers of a failed attempt to recall Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross are back for another try.

They have filed a petition to start another recall effort they hope will result in the Ward 6 councilman's ouster.

The petition was filed Monday, and recall organizers said they might start signature gathering by this weekend.

A previous effort failed in August when a review by the Clark County registrar of voters showed organizers were 25 valid signatures short of the 1,084 needed to force a recall election.

"This time we're coming in with at least 500 over," said Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, one of the recall organizers, of the upcoming signature drive.

Ross opponents have a list of grievances posted on their website at www.TossRoss.com, including complaints that Ross accepted a City Council pay raise after saying he wouldn't and supported a small casino at a location organizers say is too close to a YMCA.

But the main issue driving the recall effort is a dispute between Ross and car dealer Joe Scala. In December, Scala was forced to close his classic car dealership and lay off about 30 workers after Ross refused to support a request for a waiver that would have allowed used car sales in an auto mall limited to new-car dealerships.

Scala contributed heavily to the last recall drive, including taking out a full-page ad in the Las Vegas Review-Journal pledging to continue challenging Ross even if the effort failed.

Marc Newman, another recall organizer, said the Committee to Recall Steve Ross has 90 days to gather signatures needed to force a recall election. Mayo-DeRiso said that unlike the last attempt, recall organizers hope to field an alternate candidate who would replace Ross, but they haven't yet identified the person.

Steve Redlinger, a spokesman for Ross, dismissed the new attempt to oust the councilman.

"The fact that they tried and failed the first time tells you everything you need to know," Redlinger said in an email. "Voters in the northwest do not want a proliferation of used-car dealerships. And this attempt by the used-car dealer and his cronies to harass the councilman will not work."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.