Clark County Commission District B

The Republican challenger in Clark County Commission District B said he can help cut energy costs and better control county expenditures while the Democratic incumbent said she knows how to get things done.

Challenger Kevin Williams might have a difficult time ousting County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick. District B has 14,000 more registered Democratic voters than Republicans, county data show.

Williams said his more than a decade’s experience as a facility director for Boyd Gaming Corp. means he’s the best choice to improve the district’s infrastructure.

“I get things done, and I get them done quickly,” he said. “I manage a multimillion-dollar budget, and I’m graded on results.”

Williams said the county is not putting enough money into the district’s “crumbling” roadways. He said he can quickly raise money for improvements by slashing energy costs with light-emitting diodes and renewable energy solutions.

“The tax-and-spend mentality needs to stop,” he said of the commission.

But Democrat Kirkpatrick, a state assemblywoman for more than a decade before being appointed to the commission in August, said she understands the collaboration between the community, local government and state government necessary to get results.

“When you’re on the state level you actually help set the budgets for the local governments,” she said. “There are many issues that we work on together such as family services, infrastructure projects, social services.”

If returned to the commission, Kirkpatrick said she would continue working on an initiative to ensure local homeless people are receiving proper medical care and medication.

She also challenged her opponent’s description of the commission’s spending habits.

“It’s easy to say that you can cut, but when the cutting starts, no one wants to ever cut things,” she said.

Court records show that Williams filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March 2003. The bankruptcy was discharged three months later.

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