First Republican County commissioner since 2008 prepares to take seat

Clark County Commissioner-elect April Becker is preparing to cast her first votes immediately after she is sworn into her District C seat early next month.

While Becker’s November election as a Republican candidate breaks a hegemony held by Democrats since 2009, the attorney said she will aim to steer clear of partisan politics.

“I want people to look at me as not a Republican, but just as someone who cares, certainly (about anyone) in my district that I represent: whether they’re Democrat, independent or Republican,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday.

Becker added about her constituents: “I want them to know that I’m going to return their call and I care about what’s important to them.”

Becker, who is closing her law office to focus on her work as a commissioner, said she has undergone rounds of orientation and has started becoming acquainted with her new colleagues over lunch or coffee.

They have been “very supportive so far,” she said. “And very nice.”

The Republican won the seat of outgoing Commissioner Ross Miller by 8,619 votes against Democratic Nevada Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod.

Miller didn’t seek re-election. Becker previously lost tight races for the Nevada State Senate and U.S. Congress, falling short by about 10,000 votes against Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nevada, during the 2022 midterm elections.

The 11th largest county in the United States serves more than 2.4 million Southern Nevada residents. The jurisdiction is facing population growth paired with increasing homelessness and a critical shortage of affordable housing units.

On the issues

Becker said she will implement an open-door policy and advocate for a more transparent government.

While she acknowledged that homelessness is not a “simple” issue to tackle, Becker said she would push for services that address mental health.

“There are people that have mental illness and they need help, and they don’t even realize they need help,” she said. “And then there are people that are just unfortunate,” including families.

“This isn’t something that we just should turn our back on and say ‘they chose that,’” Becker said.

She said battling the issue will involve strategies that not only include throwing money at it.

Combating the housing shortage requires building more homes and making sure they’re affordable, she said.

County tax dollars fund a fire department and a substantial portion of the Metropolitan Police Department’s budget.

Becker said she will continue supporting Metro and Sheriff Kevin McMahill’s direction “100 percent.”

I certainly support our law enforcement. I think the community does as well,” she said. “I think that when someone needs help, they expect for Metro to show up. And in order to do that, they need our support as county commissioners.”

Becker said she will support any business that creates jobs.

“I just want to cut some of the red tape I know they have,” she said. “I want to make that a little quicker, more streamlined, more friendly for people that want to start a business.”

Becker was born and raised in rural Texas. She moved to the Las Vegas Valley three decades ago. She met and married her husband here, where they raised three children.

She was a restaurant worker on the Strip and put herself through law school at the age of 40.

“I love the community,” Becker said. “Everything I have, I feel indebted to the the ability to be able to move here.”

Becker will be inaugurated at the start of the Jan. 6 County Commission meeting.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.