Cherchio gets challenger for North Las Vegas council seat

A longtime businessman announced Tuesday that he will challenge incumbent Richard Cherchio to represent Ward 4 on the North Las Vegas City Council.

Pete Shields, the 61-year-old owner of Pete Shields Stucco, will focus on addressing crime, creating jobs and helping improve education, according to a news release. Shields has lived in Nevada for 50 years, and North Las Vegas for 17 years.

“In many ways, North Las Vegas is still the new frontier, and I hope to help our families and our next generations to have the same opportunities I had in this great city,” Shields said in a statement.

For two decades, Shields held a leadership role in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Cherchio served two years on the City Council after he was appointed in 2009. He lost to Wade Wagner by one vote in his bid to be elected to the seat in 2011, then challenged in court after it was discovered that someone had voted in the wrong ward.

“Since then I’ve been the poster child for how important a persons (sic) vote is,” Cherchio said in a text message.  

Cherchio defeated Matthew Anderson to win the seat back in 2015, and said Tuesday that he intends to seek re-election.

“There seems to be a desire to keep some consistency moving forward,” he said.

Cherchio said his focus will be on public safety and diversifying the city’s economy.

The North Las Vegas primary is April 2, with the general election scheduled for June 11.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.