Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Moncrief ‘ready to roll up sleeves’

Janet Moncrief just couldn't say no on her first day as a Las Vegas city councilwoman, though she was able to say "hold on."

Ward 1's new representative on the council voted yes on every agenda item that passed at Wednesday's meeting, except for one. But that no vote was an accident that she quickly reversed.

Moncrief also put the brakes on a couple of decisions. She put off selecting a new planning commissioner and a new member of the Citizens Priority Advisory Committee from her ward so she could first talk to the current appointees. She also asked that a proposed ordinance from her predecessor, Michael McDonald, be delayed until the July 2 meeting so she could further review it.

The bill calls for zone requirements for facilities that provide testing and counseling for drug and alcohol abuse. The measure resulted from the controversial approval by members of city staff for a drug rehabilitation center on Valley View Boulevard next to a residential neighborhood and across the street from a junior high school.

Moncrief withstood some good-natured ribbing from her new colleagues.

When Councilman Gary Reese abstained from voting on a proposed ordinance that adjusted parking requirements for barber shops and beauty salons, he emphasized that he was "just a barber." It was a phrase Moncrief had used to describe Reese during her campaign, when she was defending her own lack of government experience.

And Councilman Lawrence Weekly smiled at Moncrief's mistaken "no" vote because he had predicted last week that the rookie would need to be careful to avoid that kind of mistake. He knew because he had to correct one of his votes at his first council meeting.

Before her first meeting, Moncrief told reporters, "I know which buttons to push."

The council ratified the two liaisons Moncrief is permitted to have as a support team -- Betty Schulte and Tracey Hurless, two longtime friends who walked the ward with her during her campaign and spoke to hundreds of voters. They were at her side with Moncrief's daughter, Kara, when Mayor Oscar Goodman administered the oath of office to Moncrief Wednesday morning.

"I'm ready to roll up my sleeves," Moncrief told a room full of supporters, then requested they be patient with her, adding, "give me some time" to learn the job.

The political novice also said she planned to "be here (at City Hall) full time -- learning every day until I get it down."

Schulte and Hurless replace McDonald's liaisons, Rick Henry, who has left the city's employ, and Doug Rankin, who is scheduled to come up for ratification on the July 2 council meeting as a liaison for Councilman Larry Brown.

Rankin, who has expertise on zoning matters, is being sought as Brown's second liaison. Brown has long operated with just one liaison, who helps the officeholder address needs of constituents.

The city assigned Moncrief a temporary clerical support employee, Cheryl Conklin. Moncrief will be conducting interviews in the coming weeks to permanently fill that third and last slot on her team.

Moncrief, a critical care nurse and part owner of a local clinic, also was passed over for a number of main committee assignments, which is not uncommon for freshman council members. She was assigned to the City Council Recommending Committee and City Council Real Estate Committee as well as a committee on the proposed nuclear waste dump for Yucca Mountain.

The more plum committee jobs went to the more experienced councilmen. Among them: Michael Mack and Brown are on the Regional Transportation Commission; Goodman is on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Southern Nevada Water Authority; Reese and Lynette Boggs McDonald are on the Metro Police Fiscal Affairs Board; Lawrence Weekly is on the Economic Opportunity Board; and Reese, the mayor pro-tem, remains on the Clark County Board of Health.

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