Outgoing North Las Vegas councilwoman has feisty parting words
In her last public act on the North Las Vegas City Council, a defiant Anita Wood said her unwillingness to “kowtow to a bully” led to her loss for a third consecutive term to represent Ward 3.
Though she did not mention her target by name, Wood later said her remarks were directed at Mayor John Lee, who endorsed Councilman-elect Scott Black.
“I hope that each of my constituents will understand that being an elected official sometimes comes with a price, and I have not been willing to pay that price,” Wood said after receiving a plaque for her eight years of service on the council.
“I’m not willing to kowtow to a bully, I’m not willing to be someone’s girl or someone’s puppet,” Wood said. “If that is the price I had to pay to keep my seat, I’m afraid that price was just too high for me.”
Black, a businessman, won the June 13 general election with 54.1 percent of the vote, well ahead of Wood’s 45.9 percent tally.
The council certified the election results Wednesday night. Black, Lee and Councilman Isaac Barron will be sworn in July 5.
Even though she generally voted the same way as Lee and the rest of the City Council, Wood said she was targeted for asking too many questions at meetings.
Wood choked up while thanking supporters and saying she was “proud and humbled” to serve on the council. But halfway through her six-minute farewell speech, Wood took on a feisty tone by promising to attend council meetings, where she will be “free to speak out louder and more passionately.”
Before her comments, Wood received accolades from council members Pamela Goynes-Brown, Barron and Richard Cherchio.
“If there’s an artistry in being a concerned citizen who took a position of leadership in the community … then you would be a masterpiece,” Barron told Wood.
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.
