Daughter of district attorney raises $340K for Municipal Court race

A candidate for Las Vegas Municipal Court with a familiar name has raised a staggering amount of money for the upcoming primary race.

Rebecca Wolfson, the daughter of Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and former District Judge Jackie Glass, has raised over $340,000 in her run for Las Vegas Municipal Court Department 5 as of March 31, according to campaign finance reports. The amount is more than three times higher than the next largest contribution report — about $89,000 reported by incumbent Justice of the Peace Joseph Sciscento — for a contested judicial primary race.

Wolfson, 32, is campaigning against attorney Rae Canady, a former administrator for Las Vegas Municipal Court, and attorney Shannon Nordstrom, a former hearing master for the court.

Nordstrom left her position as a hearing master in November 2023, according to a city spokesperson.

Canady said she was fired from her job as a court administrator in March 2021. She said she was not given a reason for her firing, but that she believed it was “because I continued to push for policies that they did not want to implement that would have benefited our community.”

The three candidates are competing for a position on the Municipal Court bench with an annual base salary of just over $207,000, according to a city spokesman.

Wolfson said she was “humbled and grateful” by the large amount of donations she has received. Her campaign finance reports show that Wolfson received 228 contributions of $100 or more from lawyers, business entities and her parents.

Campaign contributions from a single entity are only allowed up to $10,000. According to the finance report, Rebecca Wolfson received $10,000 from each of her parents, an additional $10,000 from Steve Wolfson’s campaign, plus maximum donations from Station Casinos and the multimillionaire Dan Bilzerian.

“I’m so lucky that I have parents who not only support me in action, but have the means to support me and my race financially,” Wolfson said. “But I will say that the majority of my contributions have come from the community at large, and I am blown away personally by all the support.”

Meanwhile, Canady raised just under $10,000 and Nordstrom raised about $22,300 for the race, according to campaign finance reports posted in April.

In a recent interview with the Review-Journal, Canady said she thinks the amount of money raised by Wolfson’s campaign for a Municipal Court race is inappropriate.

“I actually find it offensive that someone would raise that much money for a local race when there are so many other things or folks in our community that could be helped with that money,” Canady said.

Canady said she and Wolfson are “running very different races,” and that she is focusing on smaller donations.

“I never have nor will I ever expect to raise the kind of money that Rebecca has raised, I wouldn’t even ask people to donate that kind of money,” she said.

Nordstrom declined to comment on the amount raised in her opponents’ campaigns.

“I really try to just focus on my race and handle the things that I have control over,” she said.

Wolfson said she disagreed that raising money for judicial campaigns is “offensive.”

“It shouldn’t be about what the money could have been used for otherwise, because that money was contributed with intent,” she said.

Wolfson emphasized that she has received more endorsements than her opponents. Her endorsements include the Clark County Prosecutors Association, several unions and major law enforcement organizations.

Canady has been endorsed by several unions, including the SEIU Local 1107 union.

Wolfson said she has received donations from people “from all walks of life.”

“I’m really proud of my fundraising, it’s a reflection of my wide community support,” she said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.