Lomax takes over as registrar

Less than a month after Registrar of Voters Kathryn Ferguson announced she was abandoning her position at the Clark County Elections Department, her assistant of 13 months was named as a replacement.

Clark County Manager Dale Askew said he will recommend to the commission during its Feb. 29 meeting that Larry Lomax take over for Ferguson, who accepted the registrar of voters position in Santa Clara, Calif.

"It's going to be a challenge to keep going forward with what Kathryn's done, but I'm looking forward to it," said Lomax, who has been with the Elections Department since January 1998.

In contrast to the county-appointed citizens committee that scoured the nation and found Ferguson in San Antonio in 1993, Askew followed his own tradition of hiring from within the county.

Ferguson, who stunned co-workers and Clark County administrators with her announcement earlier this month, recommended Lomax to Askew.

Lomax likely will have an easier time adjusting to the job than Ferguson. When Ferguson arrived in Clark County, she tossed out the department's antiquated voting system and brought in the latest computer technology.

The computer system -- and Ferguson -- were heavily criticized by some residents, who charged that it was an attempt to eliminate paper trails and allow officials to tamper with votes.

Voters flooded the county with more complaints after the 1996 elections when a shortage of about 100 new voting machines resulted in long lines. Ferguson took care of all the bugs and the 1998 general election was deemed flawless; the final tally was completed less than 2 1/2 hours after polls closed.

The first real test for the 53-year-old Lomax will come with the municipal elections in June. He will take over for Ferguson on March 5.

"I wouldn't say the pressure is on; we're ready to handle this," Lomax said. "I think the hard part is behind us. Hopefully we're on track and things will go as smoothly as they did in the last election."

Lomax spent 30 years in the U.S. Air Force and moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Clark County last year. He is a native of San Francisco.

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