Tarkanian, Segerblom push pot tax move
Say money should be sent to school districts
An unlikely pair of elected officials teamed up Monday to make a public call to funnel more marijuana tax monies to education in Nevada.
State Sen. Tick Segerblom, considered the godfather of pot in Nevada, and Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, who was no fan of the proposal to legalize marijuana, said during a press conference Monday that money generated by Nevada marijuana sales should be pulled out of the state’s rainy day fund and sent directly to school districts.
MARIJUANA
contributions, drawing $149,510. Munford, a former Nevada assemblyman, raised the second-highest amount, $30,250.
Mitchell has been a city of Las Vegas employee since 2013, when he began working as a Ward 5 liaison to the City Council and special assistant under Barlow. Mitchell worked with UNLV to create the city’s “100 Plan,” a master plan for west Las Vegas that’s been integrated into the city’s downtown master plan.
Both Summers-armstrong, an accounting technician for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, and Voyard, a physical therapist assistant, have unsuccessfully run for the Ward 5 seat before.
Sheila Collins, founder of the organization Girlfriends Who Inspire Change, is making her first run for public officer, as are Jones, general contractor Hicks, and realtor Patricia Messinger. Coleman and Hopkins could not be reached for comment during the election cycle and did not participate in candidate forums held by the local chapter of the NAACP.
Ward 5 includes part of downtown and a portion of the Fremont Street Experience, Cashman Center, Symphony Park, west Las Vegas and
stretches west to U.S. Highway 95.
The post has been vacant since Jan. 22, when Barlow resigned and said he would plead guilty to a felony for misusing campaign money. Barlow was in his third and final term on the council. He is slated to be sentenced in May.
Municipal elections typically generate low turnout, and the early voting period for the special election was no exception — 849 people cast ballots during last week’s two-day early voting period. There are 38,734 registered voters in Ward 5, according to the Clark County Election Department.
In the city’s last special election, for the Ward 2 seat in 2012, 5,245 ballots were cast — less than 13 percent of registered voters.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @Journo_jamie_ on Twitter.