Democratic incumbents fight off political newcomers in Clark County Commission races

In three of the four Clark County Commission seats up for grabs this year, well-funded Democratic incumbents are facing political newcomers who are hoping to end the 16-year Democratic hold on the commission.

The commission functions like a city council — approving taxes, development plans and business permits, for example — in sections of the county that don’t fall under the authority of its seven cities. The commission also manages the county’s $10.3 billion budget and oversees the Las Vegas Strip.

Michael Naft vs Ryan Hamilton

In District A — spanning the fast-growing south Strip and unincorporated Enterprise — Republican Ryan Hamilton is looking to unseat Democratic incumbent Michael Naft.

Naft has represented the district since 2019 when he was appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Steve Sisolak, who vacated the commission seat after his inauguration. Naft was elected in 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic. 

Naft has accumulated a sizable war chest for his re-election campaign, reporting nearly $970,000 in campaign contributions as of September. 

Hamilton reported about $65,000 in campaign contributions during that same time period. Hamilton previously worked with Vegas Stronger, a nonprofit focused on eliminating homelessness. Prior to that, he was the manager for public policy and communications at the Vegas Chamber.

In District A, active registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by about 7,000, making the district Democratic-leaning. But Hamilton said he can see a path to victory after Naft underperformed his Democratic registration advantage during the last general election.

“I think there’s tons of vulnerability. I think this is a better year than it was four years ago for non-incumbent candidates,” Hamilton said.

If re-elected, Naft said public safety will be his top priority. The sprawling district is largely unincorporated, meaning Clark County is responsible for its growing community needs, including fire, police and ambulance services.

“There’s a lot of growth happening. There’s a lot of growing pains that are coming from it,” Naft said.

Naft highlighted his work to improve the quality of public services in his district noting an effort to renegotiate the terms of agreements with private ambulance companies contracted by the county, leading to faster response times. 

“I discovered that two of those three providers were not mandated under contractual agreement with the county to meet those response times,” Naft said. “We were able to finally — after 18 months— get these contractors into compliance.”

During his first full term, Naft said he was instrumental in the creation of the Office of Traffic Safety, which works with all county-funded departments and agencies to improve traffic safety.

“The Traffic Safety Office has been instrumental in a lot of the policies that the board has adopted, even things that you might not, on the face of it, see why there’s a traffic safety element, things like food vendors,” Naft said.

If elected, Hamilton said his top priorities would be homelessness, traffic, and animal welfare. Under Naft, Clark County continues to see an increase in traffic fatalities, homelessness, and animal euthanization in animal shelters, said Hamilton.

“All of these things make it a much different race than it was four years ago,” Hamilton said.

Clark County is also in the throes of a housing crisis that has left low- and moderate-income families struggling to find housing they can afford. A recent homeless count found a 20% increase in the number of unhoused individuals since last year, the highest figure in a decade.

The growing number of unhoused people pushed several Clark County commissioners to call for an ordinance to restrict “camping and lodging” this month to crack down on people sleeping in homeless encampments. 

Naft told Nevada Current he supports a camping ban ordinance after similar ordinances have been passed in neighboring jurisdictions.

“It’s important that we don’t fall behind and become an attractor,” Naft said. “At the end of the day, people need to feel safe in their communities.”

Naft added that he would continue to advocate for emergency housing, social services, and wraparound programs to tackle the root causes of homelessness. Naft also said he is committed to ensuring unhoused people have access to resources so they can reach “full independence,” including mental health and substance abuse programs.

Hamilton similarly said Clark County needs to focus on funding supportive services to address homelessness, including group therapy and psychiatric care.

Hamilton also said the county needs better data on the number of unhoused individuals that move into long-term stability as a result of county spending. He also advocates forming a regional commission on homelessness that could standardize ordinances and communicate strategies. Hamilton also supports an ordinance to restrict camping and lodging, calling it one of his signature campaign issues, and adding that he “was thrilled to see Mr. Naft finally adopted it.”

To increase the housing supply, Naft said he believes development needs to center infill on county-owned land. Clark County manages hundreds of acres of land that could be auctioned for affordable housing and other housing developments, Naft added.

“I see that as an important step, because it’s also a more sustainable way to grow the valley and the housing supply,” Naft said.

About every three in four land use applications that come through Clark County are within District A, Naft said. Naft said he will continue to advocate for density bonuses, and developer incentives to build affordable and mixed-use developments.

Hamilton echoed Naft’s call to incentivize infill development, including by auctioning county-owned land to developers. He also called on Nevada’s federal delegation to prioritize passing the Clark County Lands Bill, which would transfer thousands of acres of public land to the county for further development.

William McCurdy vs David Gomez

District D — which covers a large swath of the central county — is seen as the least competitive commission district. Democrats account for about 70,000 active registered voters in the district, while Republican voters only account for about 26,000. 

Democrat William McCurdy II was first elected to the commission in 2020, winning 77% of the vote in District D, which includes economically disadvantaged predominantly Black neighborhoods. The race featured no Republican candidate.

McCurdy is now seeking a second term and will face Republican competitor and business owner David Gomez.

Gomez did not respond to Current’s interview request, and does not have an active campaign site or social media indicating his positions or priorities. 

McCurdy significantly outraised his competitor, reporting nearly $470,000 in campaign contributions, compared to the $1,700 in campaign contributions reported by Gomez, as of September.

McCurdy said if re-elected his top priorities will be increasing affordable housing stock, addressing homelessness, and expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship.

The county has increased affordable housing by offering housing developers gap financing through the Clark County Community Housing Fund, McCurdy said. He also said the county is working on acquiring new land parcels for more affordable housing.

Clark County will need to expand both multi-family and single-family housing to address the affordable housing shortage, McCurdy said. He highlighted the county’s new Welcome Home Community Land Trust pilot program, which will allow low- to moderate-income families to purchase a home on community-owned land that can be leased to the homebuyer.

“We want folks to be able to access some form of generational wealth,” McCurdy said. “Instead of just focusing on multifamily, we have expanded to incorporate for-sale housing as well,” McCurdy said. 

When it comes to addressing homelessness, McCurdy said he understands why his fellow commissioners have proposed an ordinance to restrict “camping and lodging” to crack down on homeless encampments. 

McCurdy agreed that similar ordinances passed in neighboring jurisdictions will likely encourage more encampments in unincorporated Clark County, but said he does not believe such an ordinance is the solution.

“I don’t believe that locking anyone up for being homeless is the solution, but I also don’t believe that they should be allowed to go into neighborhoods and create havoc,” McCurdy said. “We have to continue to create more non-congregate shelters. We have to continue to create more emergency housing. We have to continue to create more navigation centers. I believe that is the way forward.”

McCurdy said he would also like to push for more mixed-use developments in his district. He highlighted his work to bring a $44 million planned affordable housing project with workforce housing, retail and office space to his district. The project is set to break ground before the end of the year.

McCurdy said when he first arrived in office, he was immediately confronted with a global pandemic that required a collective effort to ensure Clark County residents had the support they needed, including rental and utility assistance. 

“I’m proud of the fact that we’re now in a place where we’re experiencing one of the strongest economic resurgences this county has ever seen,” McCurdy said. “Equally, I’m proud of the fact that we were able to keep people housed in their homes, and we were able to provide them the relief they needed.” 

“If granted another term, I believe we will continue to make progress in the area of housing and the social safety net, and helping entrepreneurs continue to grow and thrive,” he continued.

Marilyn Kirkpatrick vs Jesse Welsh

Clark County Commission Chair Marilyn Kirkpatrick, a Democrat and the only woman on the seven-member board, is running for another term to represent District B, a seat she’s held since 2015.

Her opponent, Jesse Welsh, is a member of the Libertarian Party of Nevada. On his campaign X, Welsh said he ran to address  short-term rentals, unnecessary licensing requirements, and the unintended consequences that F1 had on Clark County.

Kirkpatrick reported nearly $340,000 in contributions for her re-election campaign, as of September. Welsh reported zero campaign contributions.

Editor note: This story was updated to include comments provided by Ryan Hamilton after the story’s initial publication.

Editor note: This article was updated to reflect third quarter campaign finance disclosures.