Tuesday, April 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
They may have blinked, but Las Vegas officials never faltered from pushing their preferred redistricting plan through its legislative hurdles, shunting aside at least two alternatives in the process.
Council members, sitting as the recommending committee, voted Monday to approve a new city ward map, signaling they have the votes to formally adopt the document at their regular meeting Wednesday.
The vote in effect rejected two alternative plans advanced by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, whose officials said minority voters would fare worse under the city's plan.
Also Monday, former state Judge Fred Kessler acknowledged he contacted NAACP general counsel Dennis Hayes at the organization's Baltimore headquarters to discuss the city plan, a move local NAACP leaders said was aimed at undercutting their group's efforts.
From the start, the most controversial aspect of the city's plan was putting primarily black West Las Vegas in the same district as the eastern part of the city, home to many Hispanics. Both areas are plagued by poverty and rely on federal block grants for neighborhood improvement projects.
Chester Richardson, special assistant to NAACP President James Rogers, complained that the move would create a large poverty-stricken district. He tried to get the city to consider two alternatives that kept West Las Vegas in the central city Ward 1, which also includes ritzy areas such as the Scotch 80s and Rancho Circle.
But the city argued it was inevitable that the eastern Las Vegas district take in West Las Vegas. In addition, city maps show that West Las Vegas was included in the eastern district from 1977, when voting by wards was approved by voters, to 1989, when it was shifted into Ward 1.
Richardson argued the move was a step backward, claiming it would result in redlining, an increase in poverty and less representation, as one councilman wrestled for funds with four colleagues, instead of two councilmen fighting for the impoverished areas.
But Richardson saved his strongest criticism for Kessler, whom he said tried to undercut the local NAACP's position by meeting Hayes.
"We feel that was unprofessional, we feel that was unethical," Richardson said. "We feel that was beneath contempt for that to have occurred."
Kessler said he'd called Hayes -- whom he has worked with on other redistricting cases around the country -- because he thought the local NAACP's drive to keep black and Hispanic voters apart was inconsistent with the national office's policy to form minority coalitions.
He said he met with Hayes and former local NAACP President Jesse Scott in Reno Saturday to try to forge a compromise. "I wanted to see if there was any possibility for any middle ground," he said. "I always look for an opening to resolve disputes."
While council members had put off voting on the redistricting plan for a month -- mostly to hire Kessler and get his opinion on their plan -- they acted decisively Monday, voting 4-0 with Mayor Jan Laverty Jones absent to pass the city plan.
"No one is happy. I certainly lose some very strong areas," Councilman Arnie Adamsen said at the hearing. "I lose an area where I lived for 19 years."
Councilman Michael McDonald, who will inherit the Canyon Gate Country Club neighborhood that Adamsen will give up, said he spent two weeks studying the alternatives but supported the map drawn by city staffers.
"I'm not going to leave West Las Vegas," he said. "I'm not going to leave east Las Vegas. I'm here for anybody who needs me."
The council also made a move Monday toward adding two members after the 2000 census. The move was suggested by the NAACP and Hispanic groups.
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