The 2 candidates moving for Las Vegas City Council’s Ward 2 spot said they privation to code the city’s lodging crunch and amended nationalist safety, with some citing the unsafe usage of electrical bikes and scooters arsenic a apical interest among their prospective constituents.
Luke McCarthy, a longtime Clark County firefighter, and Shannon Nordstrom, an lawyer who formerly served arsenic an appointed Las Vegas Municipal Court judge, volition look disconnected again aft a three-way contention for the spot precocious to a runoff. Election Day is Nov. 3.
McCarthy bested Nordstrom by 355 votes successful June’s primaries, but helium didn’t get the much than 50 percent of the ballot needed to triumph the spot outright.
They’re vying to regenerate Councilwoman Kara Kelley, who was appointed by the assembly astir a twelvemonth agone aft Councilwoman Victoria Seaman stepped down to enactment for the Trump administration. As a information of her appointment, Kelley agreed to not tally for a afloat term.
More than 116,000 Las Vegas residents telephone Ward 2 home. It encompasses parts of the westbound valley, including Summerlin.
McCarthy held a important fundraising vantage aft having raised astir $130,000 successful the archetypal fractional of 2026, compared with Nordstrom’s astir $50,000, according to fiscal disclosure records.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal spoke to McCarthy and Nordstrom astir their platforms.
The candidates
Nordstrom has been a lawyer for much than 20 years, having served arsenic a proceeding commissioner and alternate and interim municipal tribunal justice from 2018 until 2023, she said.
“I judge that Ward 2 deserves a typical who is going to amusement up and enactment hard for them, adjacent erstwhile it’s not predetermination season, and beryllium their dependable and spouse astatine City Hall.” Nordstrom said. “And it’s my extremity to marque metropolis authorities much transparent, predictable and accessible for the radical it serves.”
McCarthy has been a firefighter for astir a quarter-century, and erstwhile served connected a hazardous materials team, helium said. He’s besides been a committee subordinate for Nevada Child Seekers, a nonprofit dedicated to uncovering missing children.
“I person been connected the beforehand lines of society’s problems for respective decades, and I’m not done serving,” McCarthy said. “And erstwhile you’re closest to the problems — similar I americium arsenic a firefighter — you’re person to the solutions.”
Public safety
Both candidates cited nationalist information arsenic a apical priority.
Nordstrom said that 1 of her archetypal actions arsenic assembly subordinate would beryllium to conscionable with archetypal responders.
“I would similar to perceive from boots connected the crushed however things are moving successful each applicable application,” Nordstrom said, “because sometimes there’s a disconnect betwixt what the radical successful complaint deliberation is happening, versus what’s really happening.”
McCarthy said helium would advocator to summation backing for nationalist safety.
“I’ve seen firsthand the problems of homelessness, crime, and I privation to marque definite our neighborhoods are kept safe,” helium said.
On the run trail, Nordstrom said she has heard nonmigratory concerns astir electrical recreational vehicles, postulation infrastructure and flow, homelessness and burglaries, depending connected the neighborhood.
McCarthy declared electrical bicycles a large problem.
“We request to curtail those vehicles,” helium said. “I’ve seen excessively galore accidents firsthand of kids crashing them into cars by themselves. We request to marque definite our citizens are kept safe.”
Housing and homelessness
Like overmuch of the U.S., the Las Vegas Valley is experiencing an affordable lodging crisis.
McCarthy touted caller lodging developments approved astatine City Hall. He said the authorities needs to unfastened up much acres for continued building.
“If you spell backmost to 1950, according to the numbers I’ve looked at, we regularly make astir 4,500 acres a year,” helium said. “We request to summation that if we’re going to instrumentality attraction and tackle the lodging affordability, we request much supply.”
Nordstrom would enactment to region reddish portion astir permitting, a communal ailment she hears astir from the concern community, she said.
“The much businesslike we tin marque it,” she added, “that volition trim the starting costs for immoderate of the homes that are built.”
Clark County this twelvemonth reported an summation successful homelessness.
Nordstrom said she launched 2 programs geared toward stateless defendants during her tenure arsenic a judge.
“It was accountability with compassion, and those programs addressed the issues that those circumstantial individuals were facing,” she said. “It was not a one-size-fits-all program.”
She said she would analyse existent metropolis programs to find what works and what doesn’t.
“We can’t dainty each unhoused idiosyncratic the same,” Nordstrom said. “That does not work.”
McCarthy said helium would enactment Campus for Hope, a planned 900-bed installation astatine Charleston and Jones boulevards that volition besides connection societal services to those affected by lodging insecurity. It is expected to unfastened successful 2027.
“I deliberation we request to bring wraparound services to the folks who are homeless,” helium said, adding that helium regularly encounters the colonisation arsenic a firefighter.
Mental wellness attraction and cause addiction attraction is besides needed to combat homelessness, McCarthy said.
“They request a spot to ablution and cleanable up. They request a spot to get connected their feet,” helium said. “I deliberation the Campus for Hope is going to code that, and I deliberation the metropolis needs to proceed to enactment the gathering of lodging for veterans.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez astatine rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
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