By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Population shifts in Clark County over the past decade have brought about the need for significant adjustments to the seven County

 Commission voting districts, according to a recent study completed by Main Street Communications, a Washington D.C. based consulting firm hired by the county to help with the redistricting process. The study, based on data from the 2010 Census, shows that population in the traditional urban center of Las Vegas has shifted to outlying areas of the Las Vegas valley and to the rural areas.

The 2010 census revealed that population numbers in current County Commission Districts D, E and G, which include much of the central urban core, all hover at 200,000 – 230,000 each. Meanwhile population numbers for current Districts A, B, C and F, which cover the newer developed outlying areas and rurals, have grown to 300,000 – 360,000 each. These shifts will require some significant changes to district boundaries to equalize population numbers in each district, the Main Street study found.

Both Commissioners representing northeast Clark County are poised to lose significant numbers in the redistricting process, according to the study.

In Commission District B, Commissioner Tom Collins (D) is expected to lose 22,733 people from his district.

But that is a relatively small number compared to District A, represented by Commissioner Steve Sisolak (D). Sisolak’s district is slated to lose 83,117 people. In fact, of the four shrinking districts, Sisolak’s stands to lose the most.

District A is a sprawling territory which has experienced tremendous growth in ten years. Its northern boundary stretches from Bunkerville and Overton on the east to the corner of Tropicana and Durango on the west. Its southern boundary extends all the way to the southern tip of the state taking in Boulder City, Searchlight, Laughlin and everything in between.

“There are a lot of things to be factored in,” said Community Liaison Tiffany Hesser from Commissioner Sisolak’s office. “This process is more complicated than I think anyone can imagine; with complex ethnicity considerations and everything else. It will, no doubt, be very challenging for the mapmaker. But the bottom line is that losing that many people, wherever they come from, is going to be tough for us.”

District A is fairly balanced in terms of political party affiliation. The less populated rural areas of the district in the northeast and in the south are solidly Republican while the urban areas are somewhat evenly mixed with pockets of solid Democratic areas and also Republican enclaves in the southern Las Vegas valley.

The total population in District A is 361,869. A little over 1,500 of that is represented by Overton. For district purposes, the Moapa Valley township has been split in half with Overton represented by Sisolak and Logandale and Moapa represented by Collins in District B. Another 1,350 people residing in Bunkerville are also part of Sisolak’s District A.

Sisolak’s declared residence is located in the far northwest corner of his district.

All these factors raise the question of whether the northeast County communities of Overton and Bunkerville will be chopped off from District A and given to someone else in order to meet the redistricting requirements.

It is still much too early in the process to predict that, Hesser said.

“But with us losing so much (in District A), it is clear that something will have to give,” she said.

Commissioner Tom Collins’ District B covers a large swath of the northeast Vegas Valley including the Centennial area east of Decatur Ave. and areas surrounding Nellis Air Force Base roughly east of Lamb. These urban areas form a solid Democratic voting block which have strongly supported Collins in the past two elections.

But District B also stretches to the rural northeast encompassing Moapa town, Logandale and Mesquite. This rural area is solid Republican territory. Despite this, in the 2008 election, Collins was able to carry Mesquite. But he lacked solid support in the greater Moapa Valley where he only received 37% of the vote.

Collins has declared a home on N. Decatur Ave., at the far west corner of his district, as his official residence for redistricting purposes.

The total population number of northeast Clark County, including Mesquite, Bunkerville, Moapa and Moapa Valley is 24,528, according to the 2010 Census reports.

Collins says that he is eager to continue representing his northeast county constituents. “We’ve been able to do a lot of good up there and we have accomplished a lot of things,” Collins said.

In the case of Moapa Valley township, however, he is unsure whether consolidating Logandale and Overton into a single district, under one Commissioner, would be most beneficial to residents there.

“I know that it consolidates the vote,” Collins said. “But there is also something to be said for having two representatives on the Commission.”

Collins mentioned the possibility of the Overton and Bunkerville areas being added to District G which is represented by Commissioner Mary Beth Scow (D). District G, which straddles both sides of I-215 and Boulder Hwy. in Henderson roughly south of E. Tropicana is slated to gain 49,889 people, according to the study. Like the urban areas of Collins’ District B, District G is solidly Democratic in party affiliation.

Collins said that feedback from Moapa Valley residents is welcome on the subject of whether to keep two Commissioners or consolidate to one.

“I’d like to hear what the people in the Valley want on that subject,” Collins said. “I think that we need to get some feedback from folks in Logandale and Overton on what is more important to them.”

In the next couple of weeks, the county is holding a series of Community Workshops on the subject of redistricting. All three are being held in Las Vegas. The first already took place on Monday, June 13 in North Las Vegas. The second will take place tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the Desert Breeze at 8275 Spring Mountain Road in Las Vegas. The third will be held on June 22 from 6-8 pm at East Las Vegas Community/Senior Center, 250 North Eastern Avenue in Las Vegas.

Collins said he regrets that none of these workshops would be held in rural areas. “We tried to get one held out in the northeast,” he said. “In fact the consultant that did the study actually recommended that we do at least one workshop in the rurals. But the legal folks at the county were concerned about serving all the different racial and ethnic groups equally.”

Main Street Consulting is a national firm well known for assisting in re-districting. The County is working with Main Street President David Heller who will be in attendance at the workshops. The company’s website states that Heller is “widely regarded as among the top media and political consultants in the Democratic party.”

Both Commissioners offices encourage direct input from rural residents who are unable to attend the meetings. The Commissioner’s offices can be reached by calling 702-455-3500 and asking to speak with the specific Commissioner.

Collins can be emailed at ccdistb@ClarkCountyNV.gov.

Sisolak can be emailed at ccdista@ClarkCountyNV.gov.

County Commission Redistricting Data District Commissioner Population Projected Change Needed District A Steve Sisolak 361,869 -83,117 District B Tom Collins 301,250 -22,733 District C Larry Brown 320,813 -42,061 District D Lawrence Weekly 200,586 +79,180 District E Chris Giunchigliani 208,568 +70,184 District F Susan Brager 330,097 -51,345 District G Mary Beth Scow 228,084 +49,889

2010 Census Population Data For N.E. Clark County Community Pop. 2010 Pop. 2000 % Difference Bunkerville 1,303 1,014 +28.5% Mesquite 15,276 9,389 +63% Moapa 1,025 928 +10.4% MoapaValley 6,924 5,784 +19.7% For more detailed population reports click below Moapa Valley Moapa Mesquite Bunkerville