Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins: ‘Faraday ain’t going to turn it’

Tom Collins

Steve Marcus

Then-Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, shown during a county commission meeting at the Clark County Government Center Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

Former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins is casting doubt on hopes that little-known electric car maker Faraday Future, which is considering opening a factory in North Las Vegas, would provide the economic boon needed to turn the city around financially.

At a breakfast hosted by Hispanics in Politics, Collins said that North Las Vegas has “some serious things to do” to make the community safer and draw businesses to the area. But he said he doesn’t see FF solving the city’s woes.

“Apex is not our savior,” Collins said. “Faraday ain’t going to turn it.”

North Las Vegas and the state of Nevada are wooing the stealthy startup, which calls itself FF, to open a production facility at the 18,000-acre Apex Industrial Complex, an abandoned factory in the city.

The city is one of four finalists for the location of the factory.

North Las Vegas officials have said they’re hopeful that FF, which says it will have vehicles on the market in 2017, would provide a much-needed economic stimulus. A report commissioned by the city estimated that FF could create 4,000 jobs.

On Wednesday morning, Collins also confirmed his intention to run for mayor of North Las Vegas in 2017, repeating what he said on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR’s “State of Nevada” last week.

Collins again painted a gloomy picture of North Las Vegas, musing on whether the city “will even be around in two years.” If it is, Collins said he would run, saying he’s “as good as anybody and better than most.”

Collins also again addressed why he resigned from the Clark County Commission last month, citing the desire to spend more time with his family.

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