Democracy in Peril

By Steve Sebelius

FEAR OF FLIERING: The fliers are, well, flying in the race for the Las Vegas City Council's open Ward 2 seat. Last weekend alone, four fliers dropped--two from attorney Steve Wolfson and two from commercial real estate broker Ric Truesdell.

One of Wolfson's efforts has been controversial: It depicts a series of towering office buildings blocking the view of Red Rock Canyon, and asks boldly, "What if the Las Vegas City Council voted for special interests and not us?"

Well, it does. But that's not the point.

The buildings in front of Red Rock obviously refer to the controversy over Station Casinos' proposed 300-foot Red Rock Station, which was bitterly opposed by neighbors, including council candidate Gabriel Lither. Lither points out that Wolfson was nowhere to be found on the Red Rock Station debate, and wasn't part of the eventual compromise to a 198-foot tower.

All true, although Wolfson insists he would have voted against the tower.

But that's also bogus: Red Rock Station is located outside city limits, and so nobody on the City Council would have been able to vote on it anyway. In fact, most of the areas where big buildings could be erected to block views of Red Rock Canyon are outside city limits.

But on the reverse of the flier, Wolfson's giant, Easter Island statue-like head is pictured blocking out the canyon. A building erasing Red Rock vistas is bad, but the candidate's head can obscure with impunity.

The second Wolfson flier (again with the head and Red Rock!) boasts endorsements from police and fire unions, the Downtown Central Development Community and the Charleston Heights Neighborhood Preservation Association.

"Let me make it clear: I don't lobby city government. I don't have a job with the city. I don't represent developers, and I don't make money from them," writes Wolfson, taking shots at city Planning Director Bob Genzer and Truesdell at the same time.

For his part, Truesdell boasts of experience on the Planning Commission, the board of trustees of the Meadows School, and his past presidency of the Downtown Las Vegas Partnership.

But more ominously, Truesdell promises "zero tolerance of adult businesses in the ward," and "greater policing of suggestive billboard content." With rhetoric like that, you've got to wonder how Truesdell missed getting the endorsement of the porn-obsessed Charleston Heights association. But you've also got to wonder about his commitment to upholding the First Amendment.

"As your next city councilman, I will continue to join the fight to protect the integrity of our neighborhoods by standing against adult billboards and businesses in our residential areas," Truesdell writes in one flier. And if they were located in our commercial areas, they'd have his full support? Didn't think so.

And just in case you were wondering, Truesdell says he'll work with the Legislature to "give our families more education choices." Could this private school board member be referring to vouchers?

At the very least, Truesdell's photos--a tree-lined park, young children, old people, a baseball field and a family gazing off into a desert sunset--are less disturbing than the Wolfson Head That Ate Red Rock.