Nevada: North Las Vegas refuses to pay for lawsuits | Las Vegas Sun

North Las Vegas refuses to foot the bill for lawsuits Councilman Wade Wagner and former Mayor Mike Montandon filed against the city in June over a new election. Wagner is asking for more than $72,000 in attorney’s fees. Montandon, along with North Las Vegas resident Jay King, claims the city should pay $40,000 for a joint lawsuit that halted a special election in Ward 4.

Wagner won the Ward 4 general election against former Councilman Richard Cherchio by a single vote. The Clark County Elections Department later found one invalid vote. The Council voted to hold a new election in Precinct 4306, where the one invalid vote was cast, which prompted Cherchio to sue the city, joined later by Montandon.

According to court documents, North Las Vegas has filed an opposition to Wagner’s request, stating that the Council had the right to vote for a new election and that Wagner’s attorney, Todd Bice, stated in open court that he was “not getting paid” and was representing him because he “believed in the cause.”

Nevada: Misguided voter’s ballot leads to North Las Vegas victor’s wife | ReviewJournal.com

Las Vegas resident Greg Mich’l didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to cast a ballot in the contentious Ward 4 City Council race in North Las Vegas. He first had to register to vote.

As we now know, every vote counted in the race between incumbent Richard Cherchio and challenger Wade Wagner. Wagner defeated Cherchio on June 7 by a single ballot. The outcome was further complicated, Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax has stated in an affidavit, after a vote was cast improperly because of a pollworker’s error. Cherchio has sued to have the election overturned and a new vote ordered.

But it’s Mich’l’s vote that has me intrigued. When I interviewed him recently at his home on Villa Pintura Avenue several miles outside Ward 4, Mich’l admitted he wasn’t up on all the laws when he registered to vote using his brother’s address.

Nevada: North Las Vegas mayor: Ward 4 election challenge has cost city $100,000-plus | Las Vegas Sun

North Las Vegas Major Shari Buck is not happy with the ongoing legal battle for the Ward 4 Council seat occupied by Wade Wagner. She expressed her disappointment in how the election was handled by former councilman Richard Cherchio in a statement Friday.

“It is unfortunate that Richard Cherchio and his team have chosen to pursue phantoms and unresolved emotions by searching for nonexistent ‘problematic’ votes as they prepare to mount a feckless legal challenge. These actions have cost the taxpayers of North Las Vegas over $100,000 so far, which could have been used to mitigate layoffs. That cost continues to rise.”

Financially, the city is in a bind. It still has a $6.1 million gap in its 2012 budget and may have to lay off 35 to 40 non-public safety employees to save about $4.1 million.

Nevada: Cherchio questions vote by North Las Vegas mayor’s son | ReviewJournal.com

The latest twist in a tangled North Las Vegas election tale involves both a union stagehand who voted in the city but doesn’t live there and the mayor’s son. Voter Greg Mich’l, who lives in Las Vegas, admitted Thursday he voted in the North Las Vegas contest between incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio and Wade Wagner, which was decided by a single vote.

Mich’l, 26, said he didn’t know he couldn’t vote in North Las Vegas. “I’m really embarrassed,” he said. “I never vote, and then this happens.”

Meanwhile, Cherchio’s attorney on Thursday said Jordan Buck, Mayor Shari Buck’s 23-year-old-son, might have cast an invalid ballot. “There’s substantial question about whether he has the right to vote here,” Bradley Schrager said. “We are investigating every potential discrepancy.” Wagner, a 48-year-old dentist, won the June 7 election with 1,831 votes. Cherchio got 1,830.

Nevada: Prosecution unlikely for voting error in North Las Vegas race | ReviewJournal.com

The man who voted in a disputed North Las Vegas election — though he is not a resident of the city — may have unwittingly committed a crime. But such cases are rarely prosecuted in Clark County, officials said. Such voting mistakes “probably happen a whole lot but don’t come out,” said Ron Bloxham, a chief deputy district attorney for the county. Prosecution “is rare in comparison to the number of times” such errors likely occur, he said.

Election officials often say no election is perfect, and the North Las Vegas election was no exception. But votes cast in the contest for the City Council’s Ward 4 seat drew unusual scrutiny after Wade Wagner, a 48-year-old dentist, beat incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio, 64, by a single vote.

Nevada: Wagner wins recount in North Las Vegas Ward 4 race | ReviewJournal.com

It took election workers just over two hours on Friday to come to the same conclusion they had on election night. Wade Wagner, a 48-year-old dentist, had beaten incumbent North Las Vegas City Councilman Richard Cherchio, 64, by a single vote for the Ward 4 seat.

The result of the afternoon recount, requested by Cherchio, “validates the accuracy” of the June 7 election, said Larry Lomax, Clark County registrar of voters. “Nothing changed,” he said. “Wade Wagner still has one more vote. I’m very confident in the system we use to conduct elections.”

The final tally was again 1,831 votes for Wagner, 1,830 for Cherchio.

Nevada: Judge’s ruling halts North Las Vegas special election | ReviewJournal.com

A District Court judge ruled Friday that North Las Vegas must certify a City Council race decided by one vote and it can’t hold a special election to resolve questions about an ineligible voter who might have participated in the June 7 contest. Wade Wagner, a Republican, beat incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio, a Democrat, by a single vote for the Ward 4 seat in the nonpartisan election.

The council later decided to redo the election on July 19 in one precinct and allow all registered voters to take part, even if they didn’t cast ballots in the first race.

Wagner’s attorney, Todd Bice, said the judge’s ruling nullifies an improper action by the council. He accused the council of trying to skew the outcome by picking a heavily Democratic precinct and not limiting participation to those who had voted before.

Nevada: Judge rules against special election in North Las Vegas | Las Vegas Sun

Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales ruled in favor of Wade Wagner this morning in a hearing for his lawsuit against the city of North Las Vegas. The judge ruled the city can’t move forward with a special election that had been planned for July 19.

“Wade Wagner will be the winner once the council canvasses and certifies the vote,” said Wagner attorney Todd Bice. Wagner filed a lawsuit against the city after officials refused to canvas votes in the general election for the Ward 4 City Council seat.

Nevada: One-vote winner of North Las Vegas City Council race sues to stop new election | ReviewJournal.com

The one-vote winner of a heated North Las Vegas City Council race is suing to stop a new election. An attorney for dentist Wade Wagner, who won election to the council’s Ward 4 seat by a single vote, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in District Court against the city and four council members over the decision to order a new election in one precinct after the discovery of an ineligible vote.

Wagner won the election “but is being deprived of the office due to the unlawful actions of partisan City Council members who claim the power to void lawful votes because their preferred candidate lost,” the complaint said.

It asks the court to order the city to certify the original election and to stop the city from going forward with a new one. The city has 45 days to respond.

Nevada: North Las Vegas winner to review legal options | ReviewJournal.com

Wade Wagner, who won election to the North Las Vegas City Council by one vote last week, is considering his legal options after the council decided Wednesday not to certify the election results, a member of his campaign said.

“It has to happen pretty quickly,” campaign spokesman Dan Hart said, ensuring Wagner and his team would decide whether to pursue a case within the next couple of days. Wagner disagrees with the council’s call for a revote , but incumbent Richard Cherchio said he supported the council’s decision after the meeting.

In the Ward 4 race, Wagner received 1,831 votes versus Cherchio’s 1,830.

Nevada: Cherchio will seek recount in North Las Vegas race | ReviewJournal.com

After losing an election by a single vote in Tuesday’s tightest race, Richard Cherchio said a recount is almost a no-brainer. “We need to know everybody’s vote was counted properly,” said Cherchio, incumbent North Las Vegas City Councilman for Ward 4.

Dentist Wade Wagner defeated Cherchio, who was appointed to the seat in 2009, by a tally of 1,831 votes to 1,830. Because the race was so close, Cherchio wasn’t ready to concede.

“We’re going to look at all the ballots,” he said.