OPEN FORUM: Collins Argument A Red Herring

After attending the Moapa Valley Town Advisory Board (MVTAB) meeting on Wednesday, January 14, I felt somewhat satisfied but mostly disgruntled at what took place.

I felt that those who spoke opposing the actions of Commissioners Collins and Sisolak stated their cases fairly. In a democratic system, the right to vote is held inviolate, whether that vote is a straw vote or a bona fide vote, it matters not, and for the Commissioners to ignore the will of the people as expressed by their votes, whether those Commissioners are within their “legal” rights or not, is irrelevant. I reiterate. The right to vote is a sacred privilege and should be treated as such. In the final analysis, what they did was a blatant abuse of power. The travesty is that it trivializes my vote and those of a thousand others who voted for Eide and Solomon, votes we cast in secret and with trust. It also trivializes the MVTAB, and, in effect, makes us all irrelevant. Two communities whose combined populations total over 15,000 find themselves helpless before the whims of two men. To quote Mr. Collins as he references the status quo: “Folks, it ain’t gonna change!”

Then came time for Commissioner Collins to state his reasons for taking the position he did. First he decried Vernon Robison and The Progress, hinting that Vernon lied about him. Next, he declared all of the “things” that he as a Commissioner has done for the people, suggesting he had done more in his four years than Bruce Woodbury did in his four or five terms. These statements may or may not be true. That’s a debate for another time.

In the parlance of informal fallacy, Mr. Collins commits a red herring argument. He attempts to divert our attention from the real issue by attacking Vernon and further attempts to divert our attention by extolling his own accomplishments. But the real issue still remains: “Why did he and Sisolak do what they did?” Eventually, he suggested that he wanted to put people from Overton on the Board to create a balance of representation for the two communities. A reasonable explanation except for two things: One, the communities of Overton and Logandale dissolved their individual town boards years ago in favor of a valley-wide governing body, hoping a single board representing all the people of Moapa Valley would bring unity and solidarity when that board presented the people’s needs before the Clark County Commissioners. The people of the two communities have not worried about creating any sort of balance on the MVTAB for years. Candidates, whether from Logandale or Overton, apply for positions on the Board, are voted on by the people, and appointed to serve by the Commissioners.

Number two, when viewing the so-called attempt at achieving balance, Greco is from Overton, but Mildice resides in Logandale, so why did he gain favor with Mr. Collins? He received the lowest number of votes of all the candidates, and here’s the irony. He provides no balance whatsoever. Why he’s there is a mystery.

Also the voting citizens of Overton did not seem concerned about balance. If they had, Greco would have received an honest majority from Overton voters. Both Eide and Solomon garnered more votes from the Overton’s precincts than did she. In other words, when Greco’s Overton precincts vote totals are compared to the votes received by the two candidates rejected by the Commissioners, Greco’s totals pale in comparison. Mildice? Well, he is not even in the picture.

Balance is a shoddy excuse that exists only in the mind of Tom Collins, certainly not in the minds of the voters. I make these points solely to point out the inconsistencies. Simply put: the reasons offered by the two Commissioner as to why they did what they did are not genuine.

I am not trying to flog a dead horse here; in fact, these are my last words on the subject. Anyway, at the very least, the reasons suggested by Mr. Collins do not add up. He may have done wonderful things for Moapa Valley by way of money spent and projects completed, but to willfully negate the votes of the people trumps any good he has done and basically leaves his legacy as our representative empty.

In my humble opinion, Tom Collins and his fellow colleague, Mr. Sisolak, are looking for an excuse to say “In your face, Moapa Valley! You are not our main constituency. We are in control, and you can’t do anything about it!” The tragedy is Mr. Collins could be a great Commissioner for the Valley, and I’m sure the people would be happy to meeting more than half way. He has leadership qualities, but I fear his ego gets in the way.

It’s time to incorporate!