Three candidates are campaigning for the Clark County Commission District F seat that Commissioner Justin Jones is set to vacate.
Republican Nevada Assemblymember Heidi Kasama and Democrat Minja Yan, who won their respective primaries in June, will be joined on the ballot by independent Becky Harris, a former state senator and former chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Three of the seven County Commission seats are up for grabs in November, but Jones is the only incumbent to not seek re-election. District F, home to about 375,000 people, includes portions of Enterprise, Spring Valley, Henderson, and rural areas such as Blue Diamond, Goodsprings, Sandy Valley, Primm and Sloan.
Kasama and Harris hold significant fundraising advantages over Yan, who said she is not accepting corporate donations. The candidates said they have been campaigning for months, knocking on doors, and taking their messages directly to voters.
Candidates say they’re prepared
The three candidates expressed optimism about coming up on top in November, adding that their professional experience has prepared them to immediately jump into the work.
Kasama touted her time at the Legislature and her experience in the business world.
“I truly believe I am the most qualified,” she said.
She added: “They want somebody that has actually been running businesses and managing people — and I look forward to serving them as Clark County commissioner for District F.”
Harris is a former Republican who said she feels disenfranchised by both major parties.
“I think there’s an increasing discontent with the dual-party system, not only in the United States, but in Clark County in particular,” she said.
District F has a nonpartisan-voter majority, something Harris said she didn’t know before jumping into the race.
“If there was ever a race structurally set up for a three-way race, it is Commission District F,” she said. “I have experience and a reputation for listening in the community and being accessible. So, I know how to manage and work with constituents to help get matters of great concern to them resolved.”
Meanwhile, Yan bested six other primary candidates, including one who had been endorsed by current commissioners. She credits a volunteered-centered grassroots effort.
She’s a former adjunct professor at UNLV, teaching commercial real estate, and has served on Regional Transportation Commission committees.
“I have experience learning about the duties and the responsibilities of the world of county commissioners, especially for District F,” Yan said.
On the issues
Kasama said her platform reflects the issues she hears about from voters: public safety, economic development, road infrastructure and attainable housing.
She would advocate for the federal government to release more public land at little to no cost and would work to streamline regulations and permitting for developers. Kasama said delays add to housing costs and that increased inventory will help adjust prices.
She wants Clark County to sustain its public safety funding and wants to combat wasteful spending to protect taxpayers.
Kasama previously said that the county should leverage the valley’s medical schools to recruit healthcare professionals in order to turn the region into a “medical mecca,” and that she would continue supporting Gov. Joe Lombardo’s strategy of attracting new industries.
Harris also would prioritize public safety and housing, she said.
“We have men and women and families who want to stay here, who make up integral pieces of our job market, and they can’t afford to live here,” she said. “That’s a problem.”
While there’s already an emphasis in the county on housing for low-income residents, that’s only part of the attainability crisis, Harris said.
She also wants the federal government to release additional public land.
Harris would advocate for smart growth in which the county would ask developers to include additional public-need infrastructure in their plans. She said the county can work with lenders to incentivize homeowners to rehabilitate existing homes.
“We have real infrastructure challenges in terms of we have explosive growth. And our roads are strained, our drainage utilities and all those kinds of things are struggling to keep up,” Harris said. “And then we’ve got some public trust and ethics challenges as well.”
She said that economic and job development can help keep younger generations from moving out of Clark County.
Yan said that the county’s infrastructure is struggling to keep up with growth. Inappropriate development planning, she added, contributes to rising housing costs and traffic congestion.
The county should double down on its community housing fund to acquire land and to preserve existing affordable housing through rehabilitation, she said. Redevelopment in neighborhoods, such as Chinatown, Commercial Center, near East Sahara Avenue and South Maryland Parkway,and east Las Vegas should be prioritized.
Yan wants to see pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and a community center in her district, she said. As a big proponent of public transportation, Yan would push for the county to build a regional light rail system.
“It is time for us to invest in another transformative transportation infrastructure system, building light rail in the Las Vegas Valley that will support the growth for the next generation, not just the next election cycle,” Yan said.
The county government serves the unincorporated areas of the valley. It funds and maintains public infrastructure and regulates and approves businesses and developments.
In-person early voting begins Oct. 17 and runs through Oct. 30. The general election is Nov. 3.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
