How many times did these Henderson officials reveal conflicts of interest?

Members of Henderson’s City Council disclosed that they had a possible conflict of interest more than 20 times last year, but experts say those relationships are common and another city commission disclosed more than double the conflicts.

Council members revealed a possible conflict of interest 21 times for items discussed in meetings last year, according to the city’s published meeting minutes and video records posted online.

Mayor Michelle Romero had the most disclosures on the council. She had to disclose a possible conflict of interest on ten items in 2023, according to city records. Nine of those conflicts were because her husband and son work for Las Vegas Paving, which holds multiple construction contracts with the city, and she did not vote on any of those items.

Romero voted on one item concerning a business that would be located in Union Village. She disclosed that her consulting company did work for Union Village, but voted because she said she was “not directly involved in the leasing of retail space and my compensation is not tied to leasing or rental success.”

Councilman Dan Stewart had the second most conflicts in 2023 with eight, all because of the works of his nephew and son. Stewart’s nephew is a principal at Boulevard South Land Company and his son works for Alera Group of Nevada, so he abstained from any vote directly connected with Boulevard South Land Company or related to a bid protest connected with a bond from Alera Group of Nevada.

Stewart voted on an item that confirmed his nephew’s appointment to Henderson’s Development Services Advisory Committee, which was unanimously approved by the council in March.

Councilwoman Carrie Cox disclosed two conflicts of interest in 2023, one because she works for Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon and another because her daughter and son-in-law work for community ambulance. She abstained from the vote concerning community ambulance, but voted on that concerned property where Academica Nevada, which manages Pinecrest Academy Sloan Canyon, is also a tenant.

Jim Seebock disclosed in his first meeting on the council that he attends Central Christian Church, then voted on an item concerning the church after his disclosure, and Dan Shaw never disclosed possible conflicts of interest at any city council meetings last year, according to city records.

Christopher Stream, director of UNLV’s School of Public Policy and Leadership, said that it is common for city leaders and decision makers to have close relationships with the local private sector.

UNLV assistant professor of political science Kenneth Miller said in September that many local candidates who win office were actively recruited for those positions by local leadership, which also explained why nearly all of Henderson’s election winners raised the most money for their campaigns.

Stream also said those close relationships can be good for a city as long as the city decision makers are transparent about them.

“If there’s not some sort of transparency that’s focused on the wider interest of the community in the decision process, then that’s usually a tip off that what’s going on is probably not in the public interest,” Stream said.

But close relationships can lead to city representatives prioritizing business needs over the public’s interest or to favoritism in granting city contracts if not handled properly, according to Stream.

Stream also pointed out that conflicts of interest are much more common in planning commissions than in city councils because commissioners come from the business community, which is relatively small.

That is also true in Henderson whose Planning Commission saw 50 disclosures of possible conflicts of interest last year.

‘Being on a planning commission is a hard place to be’

The planning commissioner with the most disclosures was Steve Rice, who disclosed 28 possible conflicts of interest last year, according to commission meeting minutes. He abstained from voting on 24 of the 28 items, and voted to approve the other four.

He abstained from matters where he or his law firm represented applicants, entities affiliated with the applicants or property owners on items and when the items involved entities who donated to the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, for whom he is a board member, according to city documents. The four items Rice voted on were cases where his legal firm did legal work for or represented applicants or entities affiliated with the applicants, but he said that his partner handled the legal work for that client and the work “is unrelated to the project at issue in this application.”

Commission Chair Jennifer Lewis disclosed eight possible conflicts last year, Mark McGinty had six, Jason Andoscia disclosed five, Bill Bokelmann disclosed two and commissioners Rebecca Grismanauskas and Eric Humes each disclosed one possible conflict in 2023.

“Being on a planning commission is a hard place to be because you’ve gotta go back to that world,” Stream said. “And if I make enough decisions that make developers and builders and so forth mad, I’m not gonna do so well in that space, right?”

But while planning commissioners want to help businesses in their position, doing so without considering the public can create monopolies according to Stream, who said “that is not very good for citizens. Is it great for developers and companies? One hundred percent.”

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Instagram @writermark2.