Democrat Robert Eliason to remain North Las Vegas constable
Democrat Robert Eliason will retain his seat for a second term as North Las Vegas constable.
Eliason beat Republican challenger Jimmy Vega with 65.6 percent of the vote as of 12:20 a.m. Wednesday. At the same time, Vega had 34.4 percent of the vote.
County constables act as a civil arm of law enforcement. Their duties include carrying out evictions, serving court papers and processing abandoned vehicle complaints.
Both candidates for North Las Vegas constable, a job with a base salary of about $103,000, ran under a cloud of controversy. Eliason has violated Nevada law during his tenure by not being a certified peace officer.
He is suing Clark County, arguing that a neurological disorder stops him from fulfilling a physical requirement of the certification. He also contends the requirement violates Nevada’s state constitution by only applying to Henderson and North Las Vegas, and not constable offices in less-populated areas.
Vega is certified, but is under police investigation. Search warrants obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month show investigators are working to determine where Vega lives. The Nevada secretary of state’s office cleared Vega of a residency complaint in September.
As of early Wednesday, unofficial election results showed Republican Kenny Taylor likely will beat Democrat Joe Pitts in the race for Henderson constable.
Taylor, a state transportation authority investigator, received 54.3 percent of votes as of 12:20 a.m. Pitts, a retired Henderson firefighter, trailed with 45.7 percent of votes cast.
Longtime Henderson Constable Earl Mitchell decided to drop out of his run for a seventh term after the Review-Journal uncovered questionable spending this year.
Pitts ran in support of transferring duties of the office to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Incumbent constables Steve Hampe of Boulder City, Gary Rogers of Goodsprings, Jordan Ross of Laughlin and Duane Thurston of Mesquite ran unopposed.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.
