Yesterday, Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen explained why we should be "positive and upbeat about the future" in his State of the City Address.
Hafen used the address Thursday, attended by hundreds in the Henderson business community, to announce a $156 million expansion of the St. Rose Dominican Hospital Siena campus. The expansion, he said, will add 130 new beds and double the size of the hospital’s emergency room, with construction beginning in the next few months.
He also welcomed a $28 million expansion of the Levi Strauss distribution facility in Henderson, which will bring with it a 50 percent increase in staffing. [...]
He pointed out the city has received several distinctions in the past year. Bloomberg Businessweek named Henderson No. 38 in its list of America’s 50 Best Cities, and Forbes ranked Henderson as the second-safest city in the nation.
Hafen also highlighted Henderson’s goal for its residents to live in a “premier community.”
He said he wanted the community to know Henderson was the safest and best place to live in the valley, despite the effects the dire economy has had on the city.
Hafen also addressed the opening of TH Foods' manufacturing plant here in Henderson, as well as the new Union Village health care and mixed-use development set to break ground this year. He also gave a shout-out to new Ward 3 Council Member John Marz.
And this morning, The Sun has an in-depth article on the rise and fall of Kathleen Vermillion's political career. It's quite the tragic read. I'm sure she was genuinely interested in helping kids in need when she founded the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. But as one climbs and corporate and political ladders, it can be easy to forget the reason why one started on the ladder in the first place. It can also be easy to lose one's own identity.
Partnership employees told of a topsy-turvy work environment. One employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said Vermillion was unpredictable. She would be absent from the office for days and then, upon returning, be intensely critical of what was happening there.
“It was Kathleen’s world, and everyone is affected by her emotional state,” the employee told the Sun. “If she is in a bad state of mind and goes into her bottom swing, everyone fears for their jobs. It would change day to day — from her praising people to talking about firing them.”
Co-workers might complain to board members, but their complaints never reached a full-board discussion. Vermillion “tightly controlled her board” and was “good at manipulating perceptions,” the employee said.
“There was a good Kathleen and a bad Kathleen,” the employee said. “The good Kathleen was very sincere about the children; the bad Kathleen would throw anyone out of the bus.”
I think this article sheds some light on what may have caused Tuesday's tragic news. At some point ten years ago, Vermillion wanted to change the way we "deal with" homeless youth. Again, I'm sure she genuinely wanted to help back then. But now, Vermillion needs to help herself and her family. And hopefully, dropping the law suit against Sisolak is the first step in doing that.
And as I wrote late last month, the whole city has to recover from this. Even as large as Henderson has grown, many residents here still talk about "the small town feel". I certainly felt it in the last month as nearly everyone around town had an opinion on the Vermillion-Sisolak scandal. While it was probably best that Mayor Hafen didn't specifically address this in his State of the City Address yesterday, there may be more work to be done in restoring confidence, and in ensuring that personal affairs don't become so intertwined with city business in the future.
Hopefully, there's still a chance for some sort of positive end to this sad affair. And hopefully, Henderson can move past this and look forward to what looks to be exciting developments in our future.
Sources say Kathleen Vermillion’s 15-year-old daughter saved her life after finding her in medical distress about midnight Friday and calling 911 for help.
Vermillion, an ex-Henderson City Council member who is being investigated by the FBI and who lost her job as the head of a charity she founded 10 years ago, appeared to have attempted suicide with an overdose of pills, sources said.
She was transferred to a local hospital and is under observation.
“Her daughter saved her life,” a source close to the family said.
Regardless of what one now thinks of the scandal that took down Vermillion's political career, destroyed the reputation of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, and continues to involve Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak (D-Henderson), it's taken a turn... And a very disturbing one at that. This is now about more than just the political future of Steve Sisolak. This has turned personal, and this is simply tragic.
I sincerely hope Kathleen Vermillion is seeking help to deal with whatever ails her now. Speaking from my own personal experience in dealing with personal hardship and family problems, I know crap like this takes a real toll on one's soul. Just setting aside the political issues for now, I hope Vermillion can find the help she needs and the help her daughter will probably need to navigate through what's become a family crisis.
I never wanted to have to write this kind of follow-up to last week's diary. It's just saddening to see this political scandal turn into a personal tragedy.
Let me try to explain. Since 2008, Vermillion's and Sisolak's relationship has been a factor in Henderson politics. Sisolak was elected County Commissioner in November 2008, and Vermillion (then known as Kathleen Boutin) was elected City Council Member in June 2009. They were to be "The Ultimate Power Couple". He was the "fiscally conservative watchdog taking on the firefighters" at the county level, while she was the beloved community leader in Henderson who was doing so much good for local teens in need. Everything seemed perfect...
But obviously behind the scenes, it wasn't. We've already been seeing the details behind the deterioration of their romantic relationship. However, that wasn't the end of it. Perhaps last year's jurisdiction battles and municipal elections were a sign of what's to come. Kathleen Vermillion voiced early support for the controversial plan to concretize part of Pittman Wash, while Steve Sisolak opposed it. And Sisolak backed the challengers to two of Vermillion's colleagues on the Henderson Council (Gerri Schroder in Ward 1, and Debra March in Ward 2) in last year's election. At one point, they were also endorsing opposing candidates in the Ward 4 election. (Vermillion endorsed Mike Mayberry early on before switching to "neutral" just before the runoff, while Sisolak endorsed Sam Bateman.) Honestly, I found it strange hearing him complain about the supposed "fiscal recklessness in Henderson" (which actually has the lowest city worker to resident ratio and the lowest property tax rate in the valley!) when his girlfriend was on the council.
But even now that Vermillion is off the council and the NPHY board, questions remain. How did Vermillion spend the money at her charity? How did Vermillion spend the city's tax dollars? Why is Clark County government now being dragged into this fiasco? Were city business and county affairs affected by Vermillion's and Sisolak's personal relationship? And perhaps most importantly, what can the City of Henderson do to ensure city government is not paralyzed by this kind of personal drama in the future?
As we had discussed last week, it's crucial for Henderson to move on from this hot mess and get back to governing. Without a doubt, the council members, and especially new Ward 3 Council Member John Marz, face a grueling challenge ahead in rebuilding trust with the community and assuring residents that the Vermillion-Sisolak scandal is one that isn't destined to be repeated in Henderson. How can they prevent this kind of personal drama from infecting all levels of local government in the future?
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Of course, Henderson isn't the only city in Southern Nevada facing lurid scandal. In Las Vegas, voters are still casting ballots that may determine not only Steve Ross' political future, but also how effective issues surrounding conflict of interest will be in shaping future campaigns.
Steve Ross has repeatedly been accused of being involved in all sorts of conflict of interest and ethics violations. He obviously hasn't been a model for great public service, and many residents are honestly (and IMHO justifiably) irked by this. However, many of these same residents are also wondering why they're voting on this recall today. Why?
Enter Joe Scala. Apparently Scala is still fuming over being denied a license to keep his car dealership in Centennial Hills open, and he's blaming it on Ross. So now Ross is accusing Byron Goynes, the one candidate who qualified to run against him in this recall election, of being "a puppet for Scala"... And he's even trying to tie Goynes and Scala to Henderson's Vermillion-Sisolak scandal by pointing out the recall committee hiring the same PR strategist (Mark Fierro) who's taken on Kathleen Vermillion as a client! Oh my, and the plot thickens.
Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out the whole point of this. No, I've never really been Steve Ross' biggest fan. I still wonder why he sought to earn Homophobic-Bigot-in-Chief Richard Ziser's endorsement when he ran for Las Vegas Mayor last year, and his stunning lack of knowledge on the big issues facing our country still disgusts me. However, I still can't clearly see the reason for this recall. Has Ross committed a crime? Is he egregiously failing in his duty on the council? And have his obvious public policy shortcomings become such a matter of emergency that Las Vegas can't wait one more year to vote him out (when he will again be up for reelection in Ward 6)?
Is this a genuine effort to clean house on the Las Vegas City Council? Or is this just an angry car dealer's vendetta being carried out on the taxpayers' dime?
Last June, I declared that there's something rotten in the state (really, city) of North Las Vegas. And despite (or maybe because of?) Shari Buck's efforts to turn all those frowns upside down, I still have to wonder where that stench is coming from (other than whatever's going on at that waste water treatment plant). Why is a new city hall open while parks and community centers have closed? What really needs to be done to change the city's image (other than glossing over the faults everyone else clearly notices)? And how can all that empty land be transformed into a vital part of the local economy?
Perhaps North Las Vegas' dilemma is the most basic and existential problem of them all. Really, how can North Las Vegas move forward?
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Certainly this year, the bulk of the media's attention will be turned to the hot, "sexy", top-of-the-ticket elections. After all, with the G-O-TEA clowns coming to town, there will be plenty of fodder for local newscasts and national cable news shows alike. But after all the hoopla of the caucus and fighting over who really won what, these local problems will remain. And really, the government we most often deal with is the local variety. Whenever we have problems with rowdy neighbors or pesky potholes or dilapidated parks or dangerous sidewalks, we go first to city hall.
And so far in this first month of 2012, we've had plenty of food for thought as personal drama got out of hand in Henderson, a recall election unleashed plenty of chaos in Las Vegas, and still unanswered questions of the city's viability in the not-so-distant future linger in North Las Vegas. How does local government address scandal? How can local government try to prevent scandals from ruining its reputation? And how can local government heal rifts with the community after scandals come and go?
Local government theoretically should be the government that we trust the most and hesitate the least over engaging. Yet for some time, a combination of the public's misperceptions and genuine scandals has tarnished our cities' reputations and made folks ask what's really going on at city hall. Going forward, Henderson, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas all have to face their own respective challenges in restoring trust and giving the people of Southern Nevada reason to believe that past sordid tales of corruption really are a thing of the past.
And while the Vermillion scandal continued to deepen, the rest of the Henderson Council had to decide upon a replacement for Ward 3. Ward 4 Council Member Sam Bateman had proposed a special election, but the rest of the council ultimately decided to appoint a replacement. And from there, the City Clerk collected applications from 14 Henderson Ward 3 residents vying to fill this vacancy. And among the 14 candidates, two in particular caught plenty of attention: Sean Fellows, Vermillion's appointment to the Planning Commission, the Republican nominee who ran against now Nevada Assembly Member April Mastroluca (D-Henderson) in the 29th District in 2008, and someone with close ties to Nevada GOP power player Ryan Erwin; and Cathy Rosenfield, who had previously served on the Parks and Recreation Board for a decade and ran against Vermillion in the 2009 Ward 3 council election (and received over 7,000 votes). With the background of scandal and two local political heavyweights emerging to fill this position, a real battle royale was brewing here in Henderson.
Yet last night, a wild card emerged that shattered many observers' expectations of what was to ensue at the Henderson Council Meeting to fill the Ward 3 vacancy. Henderson Planning Commissioner John Marz was another of the 14 applicants, and he really distinguished himself during question time. Unlike most of the other applicants, Marz was able to explain in depth the problems Henderson, and specifically Ward 3, face. He spoke about retail vacancies, home foreclosures, the pending Science Center and Union Village developments near The Galleria, and how his business experience can help him build consensus on the council to solve the problems the bad economy showered upon Henderson.
Oh, and then Marz dropped a bombshell. He promised not to run for a full term in 2013. That immediately sparked a bad reaction from Ward 1 Council Member Gerri Schroder, who declared that the city needs a long-term commitment from the new Ward 3 pick, and that he or she should be ready to run for election. Sam Bateman, on the other hand, took it well and said that this solution is one that best preserves the voters' right to ultimately decide on a long-term replacement in 2013. Ward 2 Council Member Debra March mostly agreed with Bateman and found it noble that Marz was not trying to get a political lift with this. Mayor Andy Hafen sounded quite impressed with Marz, but also noted Schroder's concerns about the need for a long-term replacement.
Ultimately, Marz was a finalist, along with Cathy Rosenfield, Sean Fellows, and former CCSD principal Beverly Daly-Dix. And after another round of questions, the final round of voting was underway. The Clerk noted that a preference point system was about to be used to help determine where the council stands, and then the council can use that to narrow down further to a final decision. Gerri Schroder noted again that Cathy Rosenfield and Sean Fellows also had smart answers to her question on what specific problems face Ward 3, and that both of them are ready to make the long-term commitment she's looking for. Sam Bateman noted the personal relationships he has with some of the candidates, then led the entire council to make disclosures on that front (mostly donations from the realtors' PAC). And then, Mayor Hafen made a motion... And then, all of a sudden, John Marz won the appointment. The vote was 3-1 in favor (Hafen, March, and Bateman in favor; Schroder opposed).
Once the meeting adjourned, Marz was sworn in. Inside the council chamber, the mood was quite congratulatory. Sam Bateman was glad to see the issue resolved and satisfied that voters will ultimately have the final say on Ward 3 next year. And though Gerri Schroder obviously had her doubts about this final decision, she displayed no hard feelings about it.
However outside the chamber, there was palpable anger. Some were confused as to why Fellows didn't get the final nod. Others were making accusations about campaign donations clouding the council's judgment. Certainly, not everyone was pleased about what just happened.
Still, I honestly think this was the best decision the council could have made other than allowing for a special election. Some of the candidates clearly were looking to use this as a political springboard for future elections. Others just wanted an "easy way in". But with John Marz joining the council, and hopefully with him fulfilling his promise to step down next year, there won't be questions over the council acting improperly to install "cronies" or reward insiders with plum jobs. If candidates like Fellows and Rosenfield are still interested in serving, they can run in next year's election for the full term. And as the council tries to put the Vermillion scandal behind the city and move forward on vital matters of economic development and recovery, like the Union Village medical complex, the new Cornerstone Park, and what to do about future growth, it's probably best to avoid potential new scandals and leave the final decision to "we the people".
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