North Las Vegas City Council isn’t defending embattled constable

As Clark County commissioners weigh whether to unseat North Las Vegas Constable Robert Eliason and move toward abolishing his office on Wednesday, the city’s local elected representatives aren’t resisting.

“I’m completely disappointed in the constable’s office of North Las Vegas,” Mayor John Lee said. “It brings no value to the North Las Vegas, it seems to be more of an embarrassment because of the lack of qualified leadership.”

Lee added that he would be OK with commissioners eliminating the constable’s office and giving its duties to the Metropolitan Police Department’s civil division.

“This would be a good use of taxpayers’ dollars to turn this back over to the Metropolitan Police Department,” Lee said.

Metro previously assumed the duties of the former Las Vegas Township constable’s office in January 2015.

Lee’s colleagues on the City Council also said they would be comfortable losing Eliason, who has served for two-and-a-half years without obtaining a state certification necessary to continue holding his elected office.

“It’s brought negative attention, and we’d definitely like to see it resolved,” Mayor Pro Tem Isaac Barron said. “Metro could probably do a better job anyhow. We think they could probably carry the duties out efficiently.”

Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown said Eliason shouldn’t be constable if he didn’t meet the requirements to hold his office, but she stopped short of advocating for abolishment of the constable’s office.

“It just depends on the level of service. If we switch to Metro will (their service area) encompass the entire city of North Las Vegas?” she asked.

Councilman Richard Cherchio said he would support whatever action the County Commission takes.

“If they’re having a problem with the constable’s office, since it’s under their oversight, they need to take care of that,” he said. “The bottom line is it’s a matter of serving the public over here.”

Councilman-elect Scott Black could not be reached for comment.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.