The Clark County Commissioners are in session inside the Government Center on Tuesday, July 17, 2017.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019 | 4:18 p.m.
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Representation in Clark County government may rise by two commissioners if a bill moving through committee at the Nevada Legislature becomes law.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, would increase the number of seats on the Clark County Commission from seven to nine.
Parks brought up the population increase in his remarks, stating that the number of constituents per county commissioner was around 78,000 in 1997, when there were five commissioners. When the state increased the size of the body in the 1980s, the number increased to around 55,000 constituents per commissioner.
The number is now around 321,000 constituents per commissioner, Parks said. His measure would decrease the number to 266,000.
Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Carson City, asked if there was an average number of constituents that a politician should represent, defined by any form of politically-affiliated organization, such as the Nevada Association of Counties.
“I would have to answer that question by saying ‘no there is not,’” Parks said.
He brought up the fact that larger cities may have far more members on their governing bodies — New York's City Council, for example, has more than 50.
“If unincorporated Clark County were an incorporated city, it would be the largest city in the state,” Park said. “It would far exceed the population of the city of Las Vegas, which at this point (has) roughly 625,000 residents.”
If the bill ultimately becomes law, the additional positions would not be filled until the November 2022 election. The legislation does not define how the commission districts would be redrawn.
