Sullivan top finisher in primary for Justice Court seat

Diana L. Sullivan, a private lawyer, small claims court referee and substitute justice of the peace, will advance to this fall's general election for Las Vegas Justice Court's newly created Department 12 seat.

Joining her in the fall will be Steve Smith, who beat out longtime lawyer David Linn by the smallest of margins, 17.99 percent to Linn's 17.81 percent.

Sullivan, a 41-year-old Nevada native, won 53 percent of Tuesday's primary vote in the race.

A fourth candidate, lawyer Colby Beck, took 11 percent of the vote.

Smith has been a lawyer for 27 years, the past 17 in Nevada. He served as a public defender and prosecutor in Phoenix before moving to Nevada, where he has served as an arbitrator and substitute justice of the peace.

Linn has been a lawyer for three decades. Twenty-two of those years were spent as an FBI agent. The 62-year-old entered private legal practice after retiring about five years ago from the FBI.

In other justice of the peace races, the following occurred:

David Gibson Sr., the brother of Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, will advance to the general election race for the newly created Henderson Justice Court Department 3 seat. He won 39 percent of the vote Tuesday night.

Joining him in that race will be prosecutor Sandy Allred-DiGiacomo, who came in second with about 28 percent of the vote.

Chris Lee, a former prosecutor who now fights white-collar crime as a deputy secretary of state, earned about 41 percent of Tuesday's vote to advance in the contest for the new North Las Vegas Justice Court Department 3 seat.

Jonathan MacArthur also advanced, barely beating Marsha Kimble-Simms. MacArthur won 22.62 percent of the votes and Kimble-Simms took 22.07 percent of the vote.

A fourth candidate, Maria Perez Avilez, won 15 percent of the vote.

Candidates for three justice of the peace seats ran unopposed and needed just one vote each to be elected outright.

Incumbent Stephen L. George won the Henderson Justice Court Department 2 seat.

Melissa Saragosa, who in 2006 was appointed to fill the vacant Las Vegas Justice Court Department 4 judgeship for two years, won the right to remain in the seat until 2010.

The newly created Las Vegas Justice Court Department 11 seat went to Eric Goodman, son of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.