Jones makes no state-of-city plans

In Las Vegas, the state of the city is: nonexistent.

Although the State of the Union and State of the State addresses are presented by the president and governor in January, Mayor Jan Laverty Jones has yet to announce when, or if, she'll talk to city residents about the city.

"She doesn't stand on a lot of ceremony," said Cathy Hanson, the mayor's spokeswoman. "She doesn't like to call attention to herself like that."

Hanson said Jones has made no immediate plans to hold a State of the City address this year. Jones gave her first State of the City address of her six years in office during a regular City Council meeting on Feb. 8, 1998.

Hanson said Jones does not find it necessary to hold a public address simply for the purpose of announcing the city's direction. That is why Jones has not held a ceremony marking the formal announcement of her intention to seek re-election, Hanson added.

But the other mayors in Clark County have each held, or plan to hold, a state of the city address.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon each gave State of the City addresses on Jan. 21 emphasizing how each of their municipalities will deal with continued growth.

Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro will deliver his State of the City on Feb. 10.

Although many consider that the public addresses contain more style than substance, the speeches do highlight themes that help residents understand the mayor or City Council's policies or agenda.

In Jones' 1998 speech, she outlined policies to eliminate sawtooth roads, cut down on billboards and offer financial incentives to developers of infill projects, or those that fill in vacant lots in the city's aging core.

"I want to completely ban neighborhood casinos," Jones told 200 onlookers to her 1998 address. "Even slot machines in grocery stores."

Residents and fellow council members have cited statements such as that one as a matter of public policy. As a result, some are looking forward to a follow-up.

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