Thursday, June 5, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.
Janet Moncrief woke up Wednesday and immediately realized one thing: No walking Ward 1 today.
Nearly every day for the past three months the registered nurse has gone door to door in her hospital scrubs, on the way to a resounding victory over two-term Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald.
"You work so hard I can't believe it's over. I woke up this morning and said 'I don't have to walk,' " Moncrief said Wednesday, a day after beating McDonald 58 to 42 percent.
But Moncrief said she won't stop walking her ward entirely. She plans to visit several neighborhoods next week -- "Just to thank everyone," she said -- and will probably take to the streets about one day a month thereafter.
Moncrief said she hasn't decided whether she will don her signature scrubs for future door-to-door excursions.
While the door-to-door campaign was the focal point of her election campaign, Moncrief said constituent service will be the hallmark of her time on the council.
"It might take me a while to get organized," Moncrief said. "But your issues and needs and calls will be addressed."
Moncrief said she wasn't sure exactly what she will do to prepare for her four-year term, which begins June 18 with a swearing-in ceremony. She plans to meet with City Manager Doug Selby within the next few days and expects to have a lot of reading to do.
"I didn't know if I would win or not," she said, even though she outpolled McDonald 48 to 44 percent in the April 8 primary, which eliminated a third candidate, Peter "Chris" Christoff.
Except for campaign volunteers Betty Schultz and Abby Abeyta, Moncrief said, she's not sure who she'll bring on to her council staff or recommend to join the numerous city boards and commissions she will now have a say over.
Moncrief said she has some ideas on others she wants to bring to City Hall, but refused to name them, saying she hasn't made any decisions or spoken with the potential candidates yet.
Each council member can hire two management analysts and one executive assistant, although the hires must be ratified by a majority of the council, city spokeswoman Diana Sahagun said.
Once sworn in, Moncrief said she wants to meet with her fellow council members and "start learning the basics" of city government.
"I hope they'll remember their first few days here and help me out," she said.
To make time to be a full-time council member, Moncrief said she will cut back on her shifts at the University Medical Center. She now works every weekend, but will probably switch to working every third weekend or so. Also, she will probably bring on additional nurses for the surgeries done at her Trinidad Surgery Center, which caters to uninsured patients.
Moncrief also said she will eventually buy a home in Ward 1, which she moved to in December.
During the campaign McDonald criticized Moncrief for moving into the ward just before the election.
The former Metro Police officer-turned-councilman also attacked Moncrief, accusing her of being part of a negative campaign effort, which she denied. He also brought to light Moncrief's 1994 DUI arrest. The charge was later reduced to careless driving.
But McDonald's campaign was hurt by ethical questions surrounding the councilman, including his connection to an ongoing FBI political corruption probe.
Three weeks before the Wednesday general election, the FBI searched two topless clubs owned by the Galardi family seeking evidence of payments to McDonald and several other local politicians.
Moncrief said she was surprised by the negative campaigning against her, but in the end the campaign taught her, "If you try you're hardest on anything, you can accomplish it."
archive
