Commissioners to choose new lawmakers next week
The Clark County Commission is expected next week to choose a replacement for ex-state Sen. Yvanna Cancela from a list of 19 Democratic applicants, including some familiar names.
Cancela resigned this month to take a job in President Joe Biden’s administration.
The commission is also set to select a new Assembly member from six Democratic applicants after the resignation of incumbent Alexander As se fa amid an investigation into campaign finances.
The terms of the two appointees will run through November 2022, the county said.
Senate District 10 applicants
The eligible roster of hopefuls to replace Cancela includes a former appointed member of the board of Regents, political consultants, experienced political candidates, teachers, students, a fashion designer and a retired police officer, according to copies of submitted applications to the county.
In alphabetical order by last name, the applicants are: Fashion designer
Elisabeth Apcar; UNLV graduate student Sergio Bustos; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs lead implementation manager Melissa Clary; Stonewall Democratic Club of Southern Nevada President John Delibos; and University of Maryland School of Public Health development coordinator Fabian Donate.
Clary and fellow applicant David Lopez, who is a clerk for Nevada Defense group, both ran for las vegas City Council in 2019.
More applicants include: political campaign manager Greg Esposito; Heather Harmon, who had served as the director of the Nevada Museum of Art; political consultant Keenan Korth; Lisa Levine, former member of the Board of Regents; Latino outreach consultant Hergit Llenas; English-language tutor Adriana Martinez; anticipated UNLV doctoral student Stephanie Molina; and Jonathan Norman, attorney with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.
Levine, a longtime political director for Rep. Dina Titus, was appointed last summer to the Board of Regents to replace the late Sam Lieberman. Her term ended this month. She garnered support from the governor and state attorney general in August after a heated meeting where the board’s chief of staff accused her of acting childishly.
The remaining applicants are: John Ruse, who is self-employed; Dorian Stone bar ger, the chief policy adviserfor las vegas council man brian Knudsen; Kai-ten Tao, the chief strategy officer for Remark Holdings; Equipo Academy government and politics teacher Erik Van Houten; and retired Illinois police officer Marc Wiley.
The district serves about 129,000 people in a large swath of territory including the Strip and Mccarran International Airport.
Assembly District 42 applicants
County lawmakers are scheduled next week to choose Assefa’s replacemen tina district that serves about 68,000 people in the unincorporated Spring Valley area, including a large population of Ethiopians.
The six eligible applicants: Jack Absher III, president of Absher Enterprises; Chris Hardin, manager for SFR Investments; Juana Leia Jordan, a retired psychologist with the Department of Corrections; Saramei “Sara” Kalaoram, a recent college graduate who was most recently a research analyst and communications intern with the Culinary Local 226; Tracy Marie Brown-may, the director of advocacy, board and government relations for Opportunity Village; and Izack Tenorio, the director of development for Cristo Rey St. Viator, a college preparatory school.
The appointments for both new Senate and Assembly members are expected to occur during the commission’s regular meeting on Feb. 2.