Nevada

Here are the winners in Southern Nevada’s local government primaries – The Nevada Independent

Published

2 years ago

June 14, 2024

Here are the winners in Southern Nevada’s local government primaries – The Nevada Independent

Former Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman emerged victorious in a high-profile Las Vegas mayoral race primary that’s turning out to be more about politics than is reflected by the race’s nonpartisan label.

Las Vegas City Council incumbents Brian Knudsen and Olivia Diaz won their seats outright after Tuesday’s primary, but an open seat on the council has now become a contest between two former Assembly colleagues.

And another state lawmaker will vie for a seat on the Clark County Commission, the most powerful local government body in the state, against a well-funded Republican attorney who has run close races against powerful Democrats in the two past cycles.

Here’s a look at how Tuesday’s primaries turned out for Southern Nevada local government candidates, including in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City.

Las Vegas Mayor

Las Vegas City Council

Clark County Commission

Other Southern Nevada local government races

Las Vegas Mayor

Berkley topped the field of 14 mayoral candidates running in Tuesday’s primary and will advance to a November runoff. As of Thursday afternoon, she had won 35 percent of the vote and garnered around 5,000 more votes than Seaman, who was 7,000 votes ahead of fellow City Councilman Cedric Crear.

The position of Las Vegas mayor is nonpartisan, meaning that candidates don’t list a party preference and all registered voters are allowed to vote in the primary. The top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election, unless one candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, in which case that person is considered elected to the office.

If elected, Berkley would return to politics a dozen years after she lost a high-profile race to unseat Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) in 2012, which ended her 14-year congressional career. Seaman has represented Ward 2 on the city council since 2019.

Though the position is nonpartisan, the race between Seaman and Berkley is likely to have strong partisan undertones.

Seaman, a former Republican assemblywoman, openly appealed to Republican voters during the primary and said she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election. Berkley, a lifelong Democrat, said she will vote to re-elect President Joe Biden.

In a forum hosted by The Nevada Independent last month, Berkley and Seaman feuded over crime levels in the city, with Seaman saying crime — particularly property crime — is “out of control in the city.” The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, however, reported a 10 percent decrease in property crimes in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period last year, according to a statewide crime database.

At a victory party Tuesday, Seaman said she would be a “law and order mayor” so that Las Vegas does not “end up like our neighboring cities because of far-left liberal policies.”

Las Vegas City Council

Two incumbent city council members easily won their re-election bids outright, while a third primary will head to a runoff after no candidate received a majority of the vote.

Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong (D-Las Vegas) and former Assemblyman C.H. Miller (D-North Las Vegas) will face off in the November election for Ward 5 after being the top two vote-getters on Tuesday, raking in 31 percent and 19 percent, respectively. The Ward 5 seat will be vacated by Crear, who had been in office since 2018.

Summers-Armstrong, who is in her first term as an assemblywoman, received endorsements from an assortment of veterans and law enforcement groups, as well as the Culinary Union and the Service Employees International Union’s Nevada chapter, which represents health care and public service workers.

Miller, meanwhile, had the backing of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), the Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions and other labor organizations.

In addition, Ward 3 Councilwoman Olivia Diaz will avoid a runoff after clearing the 50 percent threshold Tuesday.

Diaz’s re-election race was among the most high-profile city races, as she went up against Melissa Clary, who’s been active on historic preservation projects in the city, in a rematch of their 2019 race.

Diaz improved upon her 2019 performance when she won by less than 100 votes in the general election. As of Wednesday evening, Diaz led Clary by more than 1,000 votes and 20 percentage points.

PACs linked to Laborers Local 872, the union that represents Las Vegas construction workers, gave more than $50,000 to Clary’s campaign as of the end of March (slightly less than half of her total fundraising haul) after previously giving $100,000 to Diaz (out of around $600,000 raised in total) ahead of the 2019 election.

Diaz told The Nevada Independent earlier this year that she thinks the union’s change in support resulted from a vote she made in 2020 that went against the Laborers’ position.

The city council had voted 4-3 in 2020 to repeal a 2018 ordinance requiring developers to take additional steps to meet with residents before beginning redevelopment projects on golf courses and open spaces. Union members supported the repeal — arguing it was necessary to protect union jobs — but Diaz was one of the three members to oppose the repeal. Union officials did not return repeated interview requests from The Indy.

In Ward 1, Brian Knudsen, the mayor pro tem who has been in office since 2019, easily won re-election, winning more than 60 percent of the vote in a three-candidate field.

Left: Assemblywoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong (D-Las Vegas) inside the Legislature on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Right: Former Assemblywoman C.H. Miller inside the Legislature on March 20, 2023. (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent)

Clark County Commission

Primary season was sleepy for the Clark County Commission, considered the most powerful local government board in the state because of its oversight on business, infrastructure and certain funding allocations for a majority of Nevada’s population. But things are expected to heat up in the general election.

The primary featured three county commission races, with Republican and Democratic primaries in the District C race determining which candidates will face off in November. Commissioner Ross Miller, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election.

Democrat Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod and Republican April Becker advanced to the general election for the District C seat. Bilbray-Axelrod — who received 72 percent of the vote against Hunter Cain in the primary — is a four-term assemblywoman who left her seat to run for a county commission position. Bilbray-Axelrod’s biggest donor at $10,000 was Plumbers & Pipefitters Local No. 525, a plumbing and service technician union.

Becker — an attorney who received 69 percent of the vote Tuesday night — ran an unsuccessful campaign against Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) in the 2022 general election for Congressional District 3. Becker received donations from three political action committees run by Tommy White, a leader for Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 872 for a total of $20,000. Becker had nearly $300,000 in hand at the end of the last campaign finance period.

Meanwhile, Ryan Hamilton won the District A Republican primary Tuesday and will face Democratic incumbent Michael Naft in the November election.

Among Naft’s top donors giving the maximum of $10,000 donations were the parent company of the Oakland Athletics, state Treasurer Zach Conine’s Let’s Get to Work Nevada PAC and MGM Resorts International. Hamilton’s largest donor at $5,205 was James Thomson, an adviser to the president of regional development at UNLV and former CEO of the RAND Corp., a policy consulting firm.

Two other seats on the commission are up in 2024, but did not require primary elections because not enough candidates filed. In District B, Democratic Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick is running for re-election against Libertarian candidate Jesse Welsh, while Democratic Commissioner William McCurdy II is running for re-election in District D against Republican candidate David Gomez in a heavily Democratic district.

Left: April Becker as seen during a Nevada Republican Men’s Club luncheon at the Bali Hai Golf Club on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (Daniel Clark/The Nevada Independent) Right: Former Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod (D-Las Vegas) speaks with Assemblywoman Erica Mosca (D-Las Vegas) on April 14, 2023 (David Calvert/The Nevada Independent).

Other Southern Nevada local government races

Henderson

Incumbents on the Henderson City Council, which governs the second most-populated city in Nevada behind Las Vegas, found success Tuesday, with council members Jim Seebock and Dan Stewart winning outright with more than 50 percent of the vote. Council races are nonpartisan, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the general election unless a candidate wins more than 50 percent of primary votes.

Meanwhile, Councilman Dan Shaw faced a more competitive race that will likely lead to a runoff with runner-up Monica “Doc” Larson. Shaw received 42 percent of the vote, 9 percentage points more than Larson.

North Las Vegas

Councilwoman Ruth Garcia Anderson will proceed to a general election runoff to retain her nonpartisan city council seat in Ward 2. Garcia Anderson will face Robert “Twixx” Taylor, who has owned various small businesses and is a health advocate, in November after the two each received about 39 percent of the vote.

Councilman Richard Cherchio did not face any opponents in the Ward 4 primary and will be elected to another term.

North Las Vegas residents also voted to pass both Questions 1 and 2 on the ballot, which will renew a property tax of less than 30 cents for every $100 in property valuation to fund police, parks, fire and other emergency and community services.

City leaders initially wanted the measures to be considered at a single-issue December special election, but the vote was postponed to coincide with the primary over concerns from state election officials that a December election arrangement would attract too low of participation.

Boulder City

Boulder City Councilwoman/Mayor Pro Tem Sherri Jorgensen won her seat in the primary.

Denise Ashurst, a retired veteran, will face incumbent Matt Fox for the second open seat on the Boulder City Council.

Mesquite

Mesquite is the fastest-growing city in Nevada, with a 10.5 percent population increase from 2020 to 2023. No incumbents won outright in two Mesquite City Council races.

Mayor Al Litman, who has been mayor since 2014, will face Jesse Whipple, who is on the city’s master plan committee, in the general election for mayor.

Seat 2 on the Mesquite City Council is also up for election, with Kevin Parrish and Ronald Shackelford advancing to the general election.

Source link

Nevada

3 takeaways from Big City Showdown: Gorman boys, girls shine — PHOTOS

Published

3 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

3 takeaways from Big City Showdown: Gorman boys, girls shine — PHOTOS

Bishop Gorman and Coronado’s boys basketball teams added another chapter to their rivalry at Saturday night’s Big City Showdown.

And the Gaels made sure they wouldn’t lose a third straight regular-season game to the Cougars.

Gorman, the two-time defending Class 5A state champion, almost saw its 10-point fourth quarter lead evaporate, but the Gaels, No. 4 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, pulled through late to hold on for a 62-58 road win at No. 3 Coronado.

“It’s been a great rivalry,” Gorman boys coach Grant Rice said. “Student sections are both great, they always show out. I was proud of our guys, just a fun night. We got a lot of basketball left ahead of us. This league is really tough.”

Gorman’s win capped off the seven-game Big City Showdown. The most surprising result came before Gorman and Coronado took the court, when the Gorman girls crushed Centennial 91-54.

“We practice extremely hard,” Gorman girls coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. “Our master plan, they did to a T. I’m proud of the girls. They executed exactly what we wanted. We played tougher and we played smart.”

The games have started to provide a clearer look at the playoff picture with a month before the postseason. Here are three takeaways from the Big City Showdown:

1. Gorman boys stand tall

Gorman (11-7, 2-0 5A Southern League) was in control most of the way until late in the fourth quarter. Dino Roberts’ layup with just over five minutes left gave the Gaels a 51-41 advantage.

Then Coronado (6-7, 1-1) went on an 8-0 run and later made it a one-score game at 55-53 on a Demari Hunter layup with 2:50 left. Coronado cut the deficit to one possession twice in the final minute, and the Cougars had a chance to win the game, trailing 60-58 with eight seconds left.

But a Jonny Collins 3-pointer missed, Coronado couldn’t control possession and Gorman guard Ty Johnson made two free throws at the other end to seal the win for the Gaels.

“We’re a really balanced team,” Rice said. “We only have two seniors and two juniors that get minutes and the rest are sophomores. We’re learning. … I think the guys needed this big game in Vegas to get their confidence back. We still have to stay grounded because we’re a young team, but we showed we can be pretty good.”

Johnson, who was named the game MVP, led Gorman with 23 points. The sophomore point guard scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Gaels secure the win. Braylen Williams added 13 points for Gorman and Dino Roberts scored 10.

“It just helps us excel,” Johnson said of Gorman’s depth. “We had Hudson Dannels making 3s, (Kameron Cooper) and Braylen hustling on the boards. Defense and rebounding are the two things that’ll get us a (win). We’re going to score, points are going to come.”

Munir Greg led Coronado with 22 points. Missouri State commit Amare Oba scored 16 points and DeVaughn Dorrough added 10 points for the Cougars.

2. Gorman girls dominate

Just like Coronado and Gorman on the boys side, the Centennial and Gorman girls have played close, thrilling games. Not on Saturday, though.

Led by 30 points from Texas commit Aaliah Spaight, the Gaels, No. 1 in the Review-Journal’s 5A rankings, led nearly the entire game in its rout of No. 3 Centennial.

“Every game, we’re getting better. Every quarter we get better,” Krmpotich said. “We still haven’t put four quarters together yet. We want to do that in February.”

Centennial (8-4, 1-1 5A Southern League) had no answers for Spaight and Gorman’s depth. The 5-foot-8-inch guard showcased her scoring range — stepback 3s, jumpers and incredible post moves — passing and defense, when Spaight was matched up with Centennial four-star forward Nation Williams.

“She’s the All-American on our team,” Krmpotich said of Spaight. “She sets a tone at practice. She sets a tone in the game. She is a true leader and you expect that. … She’s an extremely smart basketball player, basketball savvy, so we knew she knew how to guard (Williams).”

Gorman (13-1, 2-0), which is ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps, made 12 3-pointers. Taylor Scandrick added 22 points off the bench for the Gaels. Williams led Centennial with 18 points.

“We can rotate in and out. We have an inside-out game. We have kids that can post, kids that can drive to the bucket, kids than can shoot a 3,” Krmpotich said. We’re very multidimensional, so it’s very hard to defend just one or two people.”

3. Look at 5A

There are still plenty of challengers looking to dethrone Gorman for the 5A boys title race.

One matchup at the Big City Showdown pitted two of those contenders with No. 1 Liberty holding off No. 5 Desert Pines 67-66. Liberty led by 21 points early in the third quarter. Tyus Thomas scored 15 points to pace Liberty (13-5, 2-0).

The Patriots could be the biggest threat to Gorman, and you can’t count out Desert Pines, but there are other contenders in 5A with Democracy Prep and Mojave. Coronado should be primed for a state title run come February.

On the 5A girls side, No. 2 Democracy Prep will get its shots at Gorman and Centennial late in the regular season. Democracy Prep beat Gorman twice last year and came up short to Centennial in the 5A title game.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

Source link

Nevada

Nevada gets back in win column, downs Wyoming, 92-83

Published

16 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Nevada gets back in win column, downs Wyoming, 92-83

Corey Camper Jr. put on a shooting clinic and helped Nevada get back in the win column.

Nevada beat Wyoming 92-83, on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 8,906 fans at Lawlor Events Center.

Camper Jr., playing for the third time after missing a month with a back injury, scored a career-high 31 points as Nevada improved to 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference, 12-4 overall. He was 10-of-13 from the field including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, playing 32 minutes. He had seven rebounds.

Elijah Price had a double-double with a career-high 20 points and 16 rebounds, in 34 minutes, while Tayshawn Comer, Amire Robinson and Peyton White each added 10 points. Comer had 10 assists as Nevada had 21 as a team. Vaughn Weems returned to the court after missing the San Diego State game on Tuesday with the flu. He played 12 minutes and scored nine points.

The Wolf Pack shot 61 percent from the field (31-51) and made 10-of-16 from the arc.

Nasir Meyer led Wyoming with 27 points as the Cowboys dropped to 2-2 in conference, 11-5 overall.

Nevada coach Steve Alford said the Wolf Pack’s defense was better against the Cowboys than it was in the loss to San Diego State.

But still not to the level he would like it.

He cited communication and players’ stances while both guarding the ball and off the ball as a few of the many fundamentals the Pack needs to improve.

“We had slippage in the (San Diego) State game and we didn’t have a whole of improvement in this game, from a defensive standpoint,” Alford said Saturday night.

Nevada’s offense was much better, though, than in the loss to the Aztecs. The Pack took better shots and eliminated bad shots.

Alford said Price played more of a complete game than he has most of the season.

Price said the Pack’s defense was not good, but played better in the second half and that as why the Pack won.

“We’re a lot better defensively than what we’ve been showing the past two games,” Price said. “We know if were going to beat Utah State on the road, we’re going to have to get some stops, so that’s what we’re focused on.”

More Key Stats

Nevada outrebounded Wyoming, 38-32. Both teams had nine offensive boards.

Nevada had eight turnovers and Wyoming had six.

The Pack outscored the Cowboys, 38-32, in the paint.

Wyoming’s bench outscored the Pack’s, 31-29.

Out

Nevada’s Joel Armotrading and Tyler Rolison did not play. Armotrading was injured against Washington on Nov. 27 and has not played since. Rolison has a back injury.

Half

Wyoming led, 39-38, at the half. Camper Jr. had 19 points in the first half.

Nevada shot 14-of-27 from the field and 5-of-10 from the ac.

The Cowboys outscored the Wolf Pack in the paint, 22-14.

Up Next

Nevada travels to play at State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The Aggies dominated Boise State on Saturday, taking a 93-68 win to improve to 14-1 overall, 5-0 in conference.

Nevada will travel to Logan, Utah on Tuesday, and stay on the road for the following game, at Air Force on Saturday.

“(Utah State) has one of the best crowds in the Mountain West , so we know it’s going to be a very difficult game for us,” Alford said. “We needed to get this one, to get that momentum before we go on the road.”

Alford said if Indiana wins that game, and finished 16-0, it means Indiana will have the only two undefeated season in college major sports as the Hoosiers 1976 basketball team was undefeated.

Alford’s Alma Mater

Alford played college basketball at Indoana.

The Hoosiers are playing Miami for the national football championship on Jan 19.

Steve Alford discusses Nevada’s 92-83 win over Wyoming on Saturday

Nevada men’s basketball coach Steve Alford discusses the Wolf Pack’s 92-83 win over Wyoming on Saturday

Nevada’s Remaining Schedule

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 7 p.m. at Utah State (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Jan. 17, 1 p.m. at Air Force (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. vs. San Jose State (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Jan. 24, 5 p.m. at New Mexico (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Grand Canyon (TV: FS1/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Friday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. vs. UNLV (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 5 p.m. at Boise State (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m. vs. Fresno State (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. at San Diego State (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m. at San Jose State (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. vs. Utah State (TV: FS1/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m. vs. New Mexico (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. at UNLV (TV: CBS Sports Network/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Tuesday, March 3, TBD at Wyoming (TV: MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)
Saturday, March 7, 7 p.m. vs. Air Force (TV: KNSN, MW Network, Ch. 21/Radio: 95.5 FM)