Four women running for judicial seat in North Las Vegas

North Las Vegas voters will elect the city's first female Municipal Court judge this year.

Four women are campaigning for the Department 1 seat, from which Judge Warren VanLandschoot is retiring. They are Donishia Campbell and Laurie Diefenbach, both Clark County deputy public defenders; Marsha Kimble-Simms, an attorney with her own law firm; and Catherine Ramsey, a North Las Vegas deputy city attorney in the criminal division.

The primary election is April 5. Early voting begins Wednesday at City Hall, and at other locations on Saturday, and extends through April 1. In races where no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers move on to the June 7 general election.

Campbell, 38, said experience as both a prosecutor and a public defender sets her apart from her fellow candidates. She spent eight years as a Las Vegas deputy city attorney before joining the county's public defender's office.

"I know what it means to litigate a case, and I also understand the difficulty of finding yourself in court accused of a crime," she said.

Campbell, a graduate of the University of Akron School of Law, was licensed to practice law in Nevada in 1999. It is her first run for office.

Laurie Diefenbach, 56, said she has the life and management experience to make a good judge.

Before working as an attorney, she was a business owner. She was elected to school boards in California and Carson City and ran her own law office. She has worked for the county's public defender's office for about a decade.

"This is my second career," she said. "I have the management experience and maturity to run an efficient courtroom."

Diefenbach graduated from McGeorge School of Law and was licensed to practice law in Nevada in 1996. She ran unsuccessfully for District Court judge in 2008.

Kimble-Simms, 50, said her long record of community service sets her apart.

She has held various leadership positions, including serving as president of her homeowners association. She was a founding member of the local chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, serves on the board of the Nevada Law Foundation and is president of the Foster Care and Adoption Association of Nevada.

"I think it's important for a judge to have a connection with the community," she said.

Kimble-Simms is a University of Detroit School of Law graduate licensed to practice law in Nevada in 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for Municipal Court in 2009 and for justice of the peace in 2008.

Catherine Ramsey, 46, said she is the best choice for the seat because of her experience in the Municipal Court. She has worked for North Las Vegas since 2007.

"I am the only one with first-hand knowledge and experience in the very court for which I'm a candidate," she said. "That says a lot."

Ramsey previously worked in private practice and as a deputy district attorney for Clark County. She is a graduate of Boyd Law School at UNLV and was licensed to practice law in Nevada in 2002.

Ramsey has received endorsements from North Las Vegas's police and Teamsters unions, Veterans in Politics, Seniors United and other groups.

North Las Vegas's municipal judges serve six-year terms and earn $148,438 a year.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.