Mayor not endorsing in North Las Vegas runoff

The North Las Vegas City Council race for Ward 4 is missing one formerly prominent voice as Tuesday’s general election approaches.

Mayor John Lee shook up the primary, throwing his weight behind Planning Commissioner George Warner in an effort to oust incumbent Richard Cherchio. Now he says he is not endorsing either Cherchio or challenger Pete Shields, but he still has a preference as he watches from the sidelines.

“Out of these two, there’s not a doubt in my mind that I believe Richard has the more experience and the better aptitude and the greater understanding of what we’re accomplishing in North Las Vegas,” Lee said.

Lee said he has stayed out of the general election because Warner didn’t survive the six-candidate primary.

Both Lee and Cherchio acknowledged it would be hypocritical for the mayor to endorse after the primary, during which he sent a scathing mailer attacking Cherchio’s record.

“I don’t think it would have served him well or served me well for him to kind of go ahead and endorse me after he supported Warner the way he supported Warner,” Cherchio said. “I think that would have been hypocritical on his part and it would have been hypocritical on my part, because I can tell you people weren’t happy when they saw that come out.”

Cherchio said he would continue to work with the mayor if he is reelected.

‘Drain the swamp’

The mayor and the councilman, however, are united in rebuking a mailer sent out ahead of Tuesday’s election by Shields’ campaign.

In the mailer, Shields touts himself as a conservative Republican and promises to “drain the swamp.” Council and staff members, Cherchio said, work hard for the city.

“I think it’s very disrespectful to our residents here,” Cherchio said. “This city is better than that. We’re not part of a swamp.”

Shields said the mailer only targets the City Council, not city government employees as a whole.

Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, head of Shields’ campaign, said the mailer was sent only to Republican households to motivate those voters. The piece was meant to raise the issue of council members often approving items unanimously, she said.

Shields himself said a council member should cast a dissenting vote based on the needs of constituents.

“And it doesn’t seem to happen,” he said.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.