Ward 2 council candidates hit ground running

There's a reason Bob Beers parked himself in the Las Vegas city clerk's office before it even opened for business Tuesday morning. And it wasn't because he likes getting up early.

The former state legislator was filing to run in the special election for the Ward 2 City Council seat. And with only 24 days between filing day and early voting, he knows there's not much time to campaign.

"It is like a normal campaign, only about 12 times the speed," said Beers, who already had placed campaign ads on electronic billboards in the area.

Being organized will well serve Beers or any of the nine candidates running in the short campaign.

That's because with only a few weeks to introduce themselves to voters, make a case why they're the best and get their voters to the polls, the ability to deploy ads, mailers and volunteers quickly and efficiently is critical.

With just 21 days between the filing deadline and early voting, candidates have a lot to do and not much time to get it done.

Candidates with name recognition, fundraising connections and an existing base of support have an even greater advantage than usual because others won't have time to build their own support structures before the race concludes with election day voting on March 20.

"All the things you would do in a typical eight- or nine-month campaign you do at once," Beers said.

Beers, who was in the Assembly and Senate from 1999 to 2007, is considered by many to have the highest name recognition in the race. But he isn't resting on name recognition alone, having already built a campaign website and started walking the ward.

"This is a race where I think you are going to have Bob Beers start off with a pretty healthy lead," said Steve Redlinger, a consultant to Planning Commissioner Ric Truesdell, who before Beers jumped in would have been considered a favorite.

Redlinger, who recently helped Ward 6 Councilman Steve Ross defend his seat in a recall election, said Truesdell is focusing on fundraising to counter Beers' advantage.

"Our focus is completely on fundraising and being able to get our message to voters," Redlinger said, adding that it could take "several hundred thousand dollars for someone to beat Bob Beers."

Truesdell has plenty of connections to help raise money, including a good relationship with Mayor Carolyn Goodman and former Mayor Oscar Goodman, which he emphasizes in campaign mailers. As a planning commissioner, he has a regular audience of developers, attorneys and consultants familiar with his work.

Kristine Kuzemka, a public defender who filed Wednesday, also cited fundraising prowess as one of her strengths.

In 2010, Kuzemka raised more than $86,000 in a race for justice of the peace, which she lost.

Jim Ferrence, a political consultant working for Bob Chinn, a retired Metropolitan Police Department captain, said with nine people in the race the winner could be a candidate who consolidates as little as 35 percent of the vote, or even less.

If, as Ferrence expects, about 6,000 voters turn out, that could be as few as 2,000 votes.

Chinn, who has support from the Police Managers Supervisors Association, the Police Protective Association and former Sheriff Bill Young, said he has the time and energy to win the votes one by one.

He and other volunteers, mostly retired law enforcement, are walking Ward 2 full time, each knocking on as many as 100 doors every day.

"There is not going to be a problem getting to every household that is in play," Ferrence said. "The people who will answer the door during the day are the exact same people who are extremely likely to make this special election."

Anthony Ruggiero is another candidate who is hoping to make up in energy what he doesn't have in campaign money.

Ruggiero took an unpaid leave from his job as an assistant to Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony to campaign full time.

Ruggiero, a former investigator for the Nevada attorney general's office and licensed peace officer, said he is determined to win.

"I am going to earn it; everyone else is going to try to buy it," he said.

Four other candidates, attorney and former CPA Bruce Gale, real estate investor Fayyaz Raja, second-grade teacher Roberta Boyers and Sherese Holmes, aren't well-known and have limited political experience.

It is Holmes' and Raja's first time seeking office. Boyers once served on the Board of Zoning Adjustment, which was disbanded in 2000. Gale has run unsuccessfully for judgeships.

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