All Henderson residents deserve to vote for all city council members

For Henderson, changing to wardbased voting is a solution to a nonexistent problem. Enacting the change would create more problems than it would solve. District-based voting can create issues where it’s challenging to pass policies that only affect a single district, often because the council members must compete for funding versus working together. A “no” vote to maintain the current system allows all registered voters to express their voices in each election cycle and retain accountability of city council members to the city as a whole.

Henderson has a long history of being well managed under its current structure. It has both the lowest property tax rates in the state coupled with the highest bond rating, prominently displaying a management formula that is financially responsible on behalf of its citizens. Why put this at risk by shifting to potentially geographic bickering within city wards? Factor in the quality of life that Henderson residents enjoy, nationally recognized public safety services, and benefits such as extensive public parks and recreation — why would we choose to jeopardize all of this?

The city runs efficiently, especially when compared with other jurisdictions. That neighboring jurisdictions have ward-based voting does not make it the right process for Henderson. While Henderson is the second-largest city in Nevada, it is still not considered a big city on a national level. Allowing each citizen to vote for each council member engages Henderson’s entire population and preserves the city’s identity as the wonderful community in which we all share.

As to improving diversity, while other cities have moved to ward-based voting, it is not universally successful in meeting the expected outcomes of increasing diversity and equitable representation.

In 2001, California passed a law for the same reasons suggested by proponents of ward-based voting and, since 2016, 79 California cities have held elections with district-based voting. The results have been mixed regarding whether more minorities were elected. In three cities, minority seats were lost because of the change.

Vote no on the Henderson’s ward question.

balloting