Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Local Elections:

North Las Vegas City Council Ward 3 candidates

    • TonyGales

      Tony Gales

      Age: 35

      Occupation: CEO, Skool Bandz, and substitute teacher for Clark County School District

      Other experience: Board member, NLV Parks and Recreation; Union shop steward Local 631 (2003-06)

      Questions:

      1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

      I will be looking for new and innovative ways to generate revenue. One idea is to lease out the old NLV City Hall to small businesses looking to move out of a home-based business or new businesses looking for small office space. In addition, I will continue to look for further ways to cut waste and inefficiency. I will be much more innovative in my approach to looking for new ways to generate revenue while at the same time still looking to cut any waste. North Las Vegas will likely be faced with the state of Nevada stepping in and assisting with the budget crisis. If this is the case, I will be a cooperative leader and work with them closely, assisting them in looking for the most fair way to get the NLV city budget balanced.

      2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a City Council member?

      Restoring public safety, both fire and police, to levels that ensure every life and every crime is in no danger of going unattended, and bringing new businesses to my ward.

      3.) What role do you think the City Council should play in addressing the foreclosure crisis in North Las Vegas? Would you support a program using eminent domain to assist underwater homeowners, similar to one proposed by Mortgage Resolution Partners?

      I would not support the use of eminent domain to address the foreclosure crisis. I attended the City Council meeting, watched the presentation and found it to be skeptical. I have been looking at a very successful program that was enacted in Boston … (that) works with Massachusetts homeowners who have stable incomes and are facing foreclosure. Boston Community Capital works with banks and attorneys to stop the eviction process, purchases foreclosed properties at current market values and resells those properties to their current occupants at a significant discount off the prior mortgage value. ... If elected, I will look at this kind of program that does two key things: keeps families in their homes and allows the supply and demand for housing to function according to free-market principles.

      4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the City Council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples?

      I would not have voted to build a new City Hall and I would not have voted to build a wastewater treatment facility.

    • JaniceRidondo

      Janice Ridondo

      Age: 52

      Occupation: Community liaison

      Other experience: Clark County Town Advisory Board secretary, small-business owner, Blockbuster Video district manager

      Questions:

      1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

      I would like to work toward reorganizing the debt and partnering with Clark County to provide services for North Las Vegas’ Industrial Corridor in an effort to attract new businesses.

      2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a City Council member?

      The first issue I would like to address in my ward is the lack of public safety. We need to restore our public safety levels of service to help our citizens feel safe. Another issue I would address is the need for a feral cat TNR program.

      3.) What role do you think the City Council should play in addressing the foreclosure crisis in North Las Vegas? Would you support a program using eminent domain to assist underwater homeowners, similar to one proposed by Mortgage Resolution Partners?

      I think the City Council should be willing to look at anything that will help our residents stay in their homes. I am against any program that uses eminent domain to take the homes of our residents.

      4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the City Council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples.

      I would not have voted for excessively large severance packages for top city officials who left their jobs. I would not have voted to spend over a million dollars on new furniture for a City Hall we did not need, nor would I have voted to pay for modifications to the new City Hall that called for granite walls. I would not have voted to change our residents’ trash pickup to once a week.

    • North Las Vegas Councilwoman Anita Wood

      Anita Wood

      Age: 49

      Occupation: North Las Vegas City Councilwoman, Ward 3

      Other experience:

      • Board member, North Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency, Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, Southern Nevada Health District, Workforce Connections, Local Elected Officials Consortium, Nevada League of Cities, Green Chips, Governor’s Clean Energy Sector Council

      • Former member, North Las Vegas Planning Commission, North Las Vegas Utility Advisory Board, North Las Vegas Citizens’ Advisory Committee

      • Former board member, Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada

      • Friends of the North Las Vegas Library District

      • Protectors of Tule Springs

      • Citizens’ Police Academy Alumni North (CPAAN)

      Questions:

      1.) As the city continues to struggle with budget deficits, what are your best one or two ideas to help balance the budget?

      We can’t tax or cut our way out of this mess; we must grow our way out. That’s why I’m leading the charge to create a Community Development Corporation, which will be a nonprofit organization designed to attract and grow businesses in the city by bringing together stakeholders like lending institutions, the Small Business Administration, higher education institutions, labor organizations and the State Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Giving one-stop shop access to these groups will accelerate the pace of the recovery and job creation, which will ultimately help the city’s budget.

      I also was instrumental in pushing for a study that has led to proposed changes in the state tax distribution formula at the Legislature. If AB68 passes it will ensure North Las Vegas gets back more of its fair share from the state, which will help our budget scenario.

      2.) What are one or two specific issues or projects in your ward you’d address as a City Council member?

      I’m working with project leaders to help move the new Park Highlands Master Planned Community forward in my ward. It’s going to be a priority for me to ensure that this project significantly enhances the quality of life in North Las Vegas.

      I’m also focused on seeing through the creation of the Tule Springs Ice Age Park. This will attract jobs and visitors to North Las Vegas while also protecting a world-class archeological dig site.

      3.) What role do you think the City Council should play in addressing the foreclosure crisis in North Las Vegas? Would you support a program using eminent domain to assist underwater homeowners, similar to one proposed by Mortgage Resolution Partners?

      North Las Vegas has been hit harder than just about any other city, and I am very concerned about the effect that the foreclosures have had both on families and neighborhoods. That’s why I led the effort to pass the North Las Vegas Foreclosure Registry. This effort helps to clean up our neighborhoods by identifying those responsible for maintaining foreclosures and holding them accountable.

      In terms of the proposal from Mortgage Resolution Partners, we are in the early stages of vetting this opportunity as a city. We have more to learn, and we will be gathering a lot of public input in the coming months. All of our stakeholders must be included in any final solution, but I am interested in any proposals that can potentially help our families in North Las Vegas.

      4.) Have you differed with any positions or votes taken by the City Council in the past several years? If so, please give specific examples.

      I voted against the recent decision to refinance the city’s debt because although it will save the city money in the very near term, it’s going to cost the city much more in the long term and creates a liability for future councils to deal with.

      Although I was not on the City Council at the time, had I been, I would have voted against the new City Hall and the water reclamation facility.

    Join the Discussion:

    Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

    Full comments policy