Supporters of Ross recall say petition effort successful

Backers of an effort to oust Las Vegas Ward 6 Councilman Steve Ross say they have enough signatures to force a recall election.

If they're right, voters could be asked to decide Ross' fate sometime in February, City Clerk Beverly Bridges said.

Anti-Ross organizers said they had 1,151 signatures as of Thursday afternoon with three days remaining before a Monday deadline to deliver a recall petition to the city clerk.

Although they've gathered more than the 1,084 signatures required to force a recall, the names still need to be verified by Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax, a process that tripped up a previous Ross recall effort in August.

The earlier effort resulted in just 1,079 valid signatures from a list of 1,146 the recall group delivered.

Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, one of the recall backers, estimated about 70 percent of the signatures on the current petition are new with the remainder coming from people who didn't sign previously.

If they're validated, the group said, it expects at least two candidates will be interested in challenging Ross, but DeRiso wouldn't identify them by name.

"I still think people are waiting to see if we certify next week and then jump in full speed," she said.

Ross spokesman Steve Redlinger said it is too early to assume there will be a recall, given the previous failed attempt to collect enough signatures.

"I think we've been down this road before," Redlinger said. "The councilman is focusing 100 percent on doing his job."

The recall effort dates back more than a year to a dispute between Ross and car dealer Joe Scala. Scala sought Ross' support for a waiver that would have allowed him to operate a dealership for upscale used cars in an auto mall that typically requires sellers to offer new vehicles with a manufacturer's affiliation.

Without the waiver, Scala was forced to close his dealership and lay off about 30 workers. Recall organizers say Ross denied Scala support for a waiver despite supporting a waiver for a competing dealership that made campaign contributions to the councilman.

Scala subsequently financed a series of television ads criticizing Ross.

The ads drew the attention of Secretary of State Ross Miller, who filed a complaint against Scala for failing to file campaign contribution and expense reports related to the ad campaign.

Scala did not return a call for comment. But DeRiso said the recall goes beyond the Scala dispute, citing Ross' decision to accept a $20,000 pay raise after saying he wouldn't and supporting the development of a tavern near a YMCA and his previous violations of ethics rules by voting as a council member on projects that affected a union in which he was an official.

"We are not recalling Steve Ross just based on the dealership," DeRiso said.

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