Gibson facing one challenger in bid for re-election

If name recognition and money raised alone decided elections, Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson would win his re-election bid many times over in November.

Regardless, first-time candidate Billy Mitchell — whose campaign had $80.98 on hand in July from the $9,000 he had raised in 2022 — said he wasn’t deterred.

Mitchell said he wasn’t surprised when he won the two-way Republican primary in June, and wouldn’t be surprised if he were to defeat the incumbent, who had $718,801 in his coffers during the same time period.

“If I didn’t do it, nobody else was going to do it,” the Navy veteran said about taking on Gibson. “I think a lot of people are fed up with career politicians, on both sides of the aisle, and they’re looking for guys like myself who’ve spent years as problem solvers to come in with new ideas and solve these issues.”

Gibson, who represents District G in the southeast valley, including Henderson, quoted former Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan, saying he wasn’t resting on his laurels, and continuing to campaign.

“When you run for office, you either run unopposed or scared,” he said.

Libertarian candidate Jesse James Welch said in August that he had moved out of the district and ended his campaign.

Seasoned official

Gibson, a former Henderson mayor and unsuccessful 2006 candidate for governor, was appointed to the commission by then-Gov. Brian Sandoval after Mary Beth Scow resigned in 2017, and then won the seat in the 2018 election.

“The county commission is in the middle of virtually every major issue that affects our lives,” Gibson said. “And it’s become very clear to me that we have a keen responsibility to at least have our voice mixed in with others, and in some cases to lead.”

The most pressing issues currently in Southern Nevada are decreasing water supplies and an affordable housing shortage, Gibson said.

And although there is an emerging water shortage, Gibson said the commission has positioned the region for continued growth, albeit “responsibly.”

To address the housing shortage of an estimated nearly 90,000 units, the commission recently approved a $120 million investment to renovate or build about 3,100 homes for lower-earning residents. Gibson said he would also focus on getting people experiencing homelessness into homes.

An attorney, Gibson serves on the boards of the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. He also serves on the Metropolitan Police Department’s fiscal affairs committee.

“We have a few things that we’ve started to work on, but we’re not through with it,” he said about his motivation for re-election into the county commission. “I think I bring the experience and the understanding of the issues that others might not have.”

Botched COVID response

Mitchell said county officials botched the COVID-19 response at every step, going along with mandates that led to closures of small businesses, which ultimately harmed the economy as a whole.

“He could’ve stood up to the governor, but (the commissioners) didn’t, they just went ahead and voted along party lines all seven of them and implemented all of the mandates, including with the county workers,” Mitchell said. All the members of the commission, like Sisolak, are Democrats.

Mitchell said he served in nuclear submarines before he taught and coached football at Coronado High School. He is an engineer who’s worked as a contractor with the Department of Defense, he said.

He’s a pro-police candidate who would advocate to properly fund the fire department and the Metropolitan Police Department, claiming without proof that the current board would move to “defund the police.” (The department’s budget — funded by the city of Las Vegas and Clark County — has increased every fiscal year by at least $6 million since the 2013-2014 fiscal year, according to budgets posted online.)

To stabilize the economy, he would push to ease taxes and remove red tape to streamline the process for new businesses, creating jobs “to build up the middle class.”

A strong middle class, and increased development, would help address the affordable housing shortage, he said.

“Nobody’s buying COVID no more,” he said about the pandemic, questioning the efficiency of not only the mandates, but also the vaccines.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.