Culinary Union leader gets Las Vegas Stadium Authority board spot
Gov. Steve Sisolak on Monday appointed Geoconda Arguello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board of directors.
The appointment came weeks after being rejected for an appointment to a position by the Clark County Commission.
Arguello-Kline replaces Scott Nielson, president of Nielson Consulting, whose term on the board expired Dec. 31.
The nine-member Stadium Authority board establishes policies and manages the budget for the $2 billion, 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium set to open in July and become the home of the National Football League Raiders as well as the UNLV football team.
The Culinary Union is affiliated with UNITE HERE, which represents 30,000 workers at 51 stadiums across the United States.
Arguello-Kline thanked Sisolak and said she is representative of the city’s hospitality industry.
“This is what we do,” Arguello-Kline said in an emailed statement. “From big conventions to New Year’s Eve, Culinary Union members are the experts in Nevada. We want the stadium to be successful and now that the construction is nearly over, the next phase is now job training, equal opportunity hiring and workforce development.”
Arguello-Kline was hoping to win an appointment from the Clark County Commission when it filled two positions on the authority board in December. Commissioners opted to go with experienced authority members and reappointed Jan Jones Blackhurst, a member of Caesars Entertainment’s board of directors, and Tommy White, secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 872.
The union criticized the appointments, noting there were no women of color on the board. Commissioner Larry Brown said he wanted Jones Blackhurst and White to have the opportunity to complete full terms on the board after serving the first two years of its existence.
Arguello-Kline was one of 29 people who had applied for the board position and Culinary Union members filled commission chambers in support of her appointment.
The authority’s next board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 16.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
