Get informed before casting ballot

By now it should come as no surprise to anyone that an election is just around the corner.

On June 13 (early voting scheduled from May 31 through June 3), Boulder City residents will be asked to select two councilmen and vote on two ballot questions.

After a heated primary, the field of eight candidates for City Council was narrowed to four. Currently, Warren Harhay, Kiernan McManus, John Milburn and Councilman Cam Walker are looking to be elected.

All are qualified to serve, and I’m sure that all would do an excellent job. The difficulty comes in determining who you feel would best represent your ideals and aspirations for the city’s future.

From the conversations I have heard, the overall perception seems to be that two candidates are very much against any type of changes to our beloved city, with the other two promoting massive, sprawling growth.

But things are not that black and white. In fact, in the statements the candidates submitted to the Boulder City Review and printed in our March 9 issue (http://bit.ly/2mHTeSS) before the primary, not one espoused uncontrolled growth or doing away with the city’s controlled growth ordinance.

There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation floating around. It reminds me of the game of telephone that I used to play as a youngster. As we sat around in a circle one person would whisper something in the ear of the person sitting next to him or her, who would in turn whisper what was heard into the next person’s ear. By the time the message returned to the original whisperer, it was usually quite different.

And that is why I would like to invite you all to attend a forum Monday night that the newspaper is sponsoring so you can learn more about the four men running for a seat on the City Council and their positions on the issues. It begins at 7 p.m. at the Elaine K. Smith Center, 700 Wyoming St.

We have asked members of the community to submit questions they would like to have answered, and will randomly select which ones the candidates will answer. We also will give them time to meet individually with residents and answer their questions one-on-one after the formal portion of the evening.

Then, on May 18, we will again print the candidates’ answers to several questions we posed to them, including where they stand on the two ballot issues: if the city should remove the 30-home per developer per year cap while retaining the 120-home annual limit as part of its controlled growth ordinance; and should an interchange on Interstate 11 at Buchanan Boulevard be created.

Several other groups in the community also have invited the candidates to speak and answer questions about pressing matters before the election.

The important thing is to become informed and then head to the polls to cast your ballot. If you haven’t registered to vote yet, don’t panic. You still have a few days left to register.

Registration closes May 23 but must be done in person at the city clerk’s office in City Hall after Saturday. Registrations also will be accepted online at www.clarkcountynv.gov/vote.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523.

Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.