Candidates dash to fill open Clark County Commission seats

With more than half of the seats on the powerful all-Democratic Clark County Commission up for election, candidates were mostly drawn to the two open seats as the filing deadline hit Friday.

Ten hopefuls officially declared candidacies in District D and seven filed to run in District C – seats currently held by term-limited Commissioners Lawrence Weekly and Larry Brown, respectively.

Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Commissioner Michael Naft are seeking to retain seats in District B and District A, respectively, where seven total candidates filed between both districts by deadline, according to county filing records.

District D

Two Democratic state lawmakers highlight the race for District D: Sen. Mo Denis and Assemblyman William McCurdy II, the chairman of the Nevada Democratic Party.

North Las Vegas Councilman Isaac Barron, a Democrat, is the only other elected official in the contest.

But seven other candidates are also in the mix: County administrator Tanya Flanagan, business consultant Dillard Allen Scott, nonprofit director Henry Thorns, former city of Las Vegas Fire Chief David Washington, Deepen Kothari, Jesus Moreno and Stanley Washington.

All are Democrats except for Thorns, David Washington and Stanley Washington, who are running on no-party tickets.

District C

Former Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat, and term-limited Las Vegas Councilman Stavros Anthony, the lone Republican to file, are joining five others in the contest for District C.

The remaining Democratic field includes: Fayyaz Raja, who sits on the newly formed Asian-American Pacific Islanders Commission; Hunter Cain, a former aide to Rep. Dina Titus; Patsy Brown, a one-time Las Vegas council candidate; Las Vegas native Jennifer Penney; and Gary Hosea, who has sought the seat during the past two election cycles.

Incumbent districts

Challenging Kirkpatrick for the District B seat: Republican Kevin Williams and Warren Markowitz, running on the Independent American ticket.

Naft is being challenged in District A by fellow Democrats Leain Vashon, the vice president of Culinary Union Local 226, and Kenneth O’Sullivan. Michael Thomas, a Republican and retired law enforcement professional who ran unsuccessfully against then-Commissioner Steve Sisolak for the District A seat in 2016, also filed to run.

Naft was appointed to the seat last year by Sisolak after Sisolak was elected governor, meaning this is Naft’s first effort to be elected in his own right.

The primary election is June 9, with early voting from May 23 to June 5. The general election is Nov. 3, and early voting is Oct. 17 through Oct. 30.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.