Official: Ward 6 recall race for Steve Ross could have light turnout

By Dave Toplikar

Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 | 1:11 p.m.

A Clark County election official is predicting 10 percent turnout for Tuesday's special recall election for the Ward 6 spot on the Las Vegas City Council.

Larry Lomax, the county's registrar of voters, said that early voting on Thursday and Friday brought in 2,914 ballots so far in the race, which pits incumbent Steve Ross against Byron Goynes, a city planning commissioner.

Lomax said if around 2,000 people come out to the polls on Tuesday, that should bring the total up to around 5,000 by the end of the day. That's close to 10 percent of the nearly 50,000 registered voters in Ward 6 (see map).

"It all depends on how much effort these two candidates put into people getting out to vote for them," Lomax said.

The last city recall election was Jan. 25, 2005, when incumbent Janet Moncrief lost to Lois Tarkanian for the Ward 1 seat. That election saw a turnout of 21 percent, Lomax said.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. At the following location:

• A trailer in the Centennial Plaza shopping center at Centennial Center and Tropical Parkway,

• Room 4 at the Centennial Hills Community Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive at Deer Springs Way.

• Alberstons grocery store, 4850 Craig Road at Decatur Boulevard.

The election was forced by Committee to Recall Steve Ross, which has been pushed by Joe Scala, a a car dealer who was denied a waiver to continue operating a dealership in Centennial Hills, which is in Ross’ ward.

Ballots feature the names of both Ross, who was last elected in 2009, and Goynes, who is a longtime member of the Las Vegas Planning Commission.

Goynes ran for the same seat in 2005 and finished in third place.

Ross won a second four-year term to represent Ward 6 in 2009 with 54.8 percent of the vote against his challenger, attorney Jennifer Taylor.

Ross ran for mayor earlier this year, but after finishing in fifth place in the primary , he endorsed Carolyn Goodman, who won the seat.