3 of 6 Mesquite City Council seats up for grabs in November, including mayor’s seat

Mayor Allan S. Litman and Councilman Wes Boger will try to fend off challenges, while two candidates are vying to fill an open seat.

The Clark County city — which is located about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas — has a population of nearly 23,000 residents, a number overshadowed by its 917,000 annual visitors, according to city figures. It has 2,163 active building permits.

The historically agriculture-based town was initially settled by 15 families in the late 19th century and incorporated about 100 years later in 1984.

“A new hospital, medical and dental clinics brought care that had only been possible by traveling outside the valley,” according to the city’s biography. “Stores, restaurants, movie theaters, art galleries, golf courses, hotels and casinos are providing employment and services for the lifestyle that has become a trademark of Mesquite.”

Mayor’s race

Litman is a Vietnam War veteran, educator and a small business owner who has held the mayor’s seat for about 11 years, with a previous two-year stint in the City Council.

He expects the city to continue being a small town in the near future, but he supports “controlled” growth of its workforce and business community, which takes water and infrastructure into account, he wrote in his Las Vegas Review-Journal candidate questionnaire.

While the City Council doesn’t specifically tackle affordable housing, he said, he would continue working with developers and the Nevada Rural Housing Authority.

He cited workforce retention as one of the city’s pressing issues.

“Mesquite has a high percentage of the population either retired or planning to retire in the near future and one high school that graduates under 200 students yearly,” he wrote.

Litman is being challenged by businessman E. Jesse Whipple, who’s lived most of his life in Mesquite.

Whipple is a licensed helicopter pilot who operates a pest control branch of a company.

He told the Review-Journal that he wants Mesquite to keep growing.

”I think it’s important that along with that growth, we make sure that we have affordable housing to meet the needs,” he said.

Whipple see he and Litman, whom he described as a nice man, “see eye to eye” on a lot of the issues, but that the council needs a shake up.

Mesquite could do better to promote itself as a tourist destination, and Whipple said he would advance that message.

“It’s time for new ideas,” he said.

Incumbent councilman

Councilman Wes Boger, who was first elected to the council in 2020, is seeking re-election.

He previously served in the city’s charter committee and helped spearhead a volunteer community watchdog group. Boger has volunteered at the local elementary school.

Boger is an advocate of managed growth with a strategy that includes the business community and commercial and industrial entities.

He said the city’s housing shortage was his top priority.

“Without a strong workforce, our population cannot have the amenities, stores and restaurants the citizens would like to see in town,” he wrote. “I will continue these efforts.”

Jeffrey A. Hoyt is an accountant who operates a real estate business.

He wants growth that provides opportunities to younger generations to remain in Mesquite.

Hoyt said affordable housing was being stymied by government regulation “run amok.”

“My recommendation is to evaluate what things we can fix through consultation with the people that build housing,” he wrote in his Review-Journal questionnaire.

His top issue, according to Hoyt? Reducing corruption and increasing transparency.

Open seat

Two candidates are vying to fill the seat being vacated by Councilman Brian Wursten, who didn’t run for re-election.

Kevin Parrish is a small business owner who served in the U.S. Air Force.

He wrote in his Review-Journal questionnaire that the city’s infrastructure should keep up with growth.

About affordable housing, he said the government can offer builders incentives while ensuring that the properties remain affordable.

Parrish said the city needs to make sure that existing public infrastructure is kept in “pristine condition.”

Ronald Shackelford is a longtime electrician who owns Matrix Electric, a local business.

He didn’t fill out the Review-Journal questionnaire, but wrote in his campaign website that he would tackle the affordable housing issue and pair it with workforce development.

Shackelford would push to attract high-paying manufacturing jobs, and would “advocate for a prudent budget that secures our city’s future while meeting immediate needs.”

He said he wants to empower residents so they can be educated about their rights and government transparency.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.